Dale Earnhardt Jr.: I’m too nice to negotiate

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: I’m too nice to negotiate

 

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 

(August 6, 2011)

 

LONG POND, Pa.—Dale Earnhardt Jr. acknowledges he’s making progress in negotiating a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports—but, unlike Carl Edwards, Earnhardt would prefer to stay as far away from the process as possible.

 Edwards, who just re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing, negotiates his own contracts, down to the minutiae. Not Earnhardt.

 “I really don’t get involved in my negotiations too much, because I’m too nice,” Earnhardt said. “I had to send my sister (Kelley Earnhardt) in there because she is a shark about it. I just want everybody to be happy and everybody to go on down the road and get back to work and move in the right direction and all that good stuff. I also like to try to keep the relationship between me and (owner) Rick (Hendrick) less about money and more about being friends and trying to do better on the racetrack and helping each other out.

 I kind of leave all that stuff to my sister. … I really trust her with all that stuff. If I had to jump in there I really don’t know if I could put up the fight. I’m just not that kind of guy and would likely come out with the short end of the stick. So I’m probably glad I’ve got her around.”

 No full Nationwide scheduled for Edwards in 2012

 Carl Edwards will not run the full Nationwide Series schedule beginning in 2012, saying he wants more time to focus on his Sprint Cup car and work with crew chief Bob Osborne. Edwards will run a partial Nationwide schedule.

 “I feel like there are weekends when I walk away from this Aflac (Cup) car and I go get in the Nationwide car, I’m leaving something on the table,” Edwards said. “I feel like I could be better. … The racer in me wants to run the truck series, the Nationwide Series, the Cup series every week. But I think I’ve got to (cut back). Jimmie Johnson doesn’t run (many) Nationwide races.”

 It has not been determined how many Nationwide races Edwards will run next season. He had competed in 210 consecutive races until skipping the Road America event in June.

 The 2007 series champion, Edwards has 34 Nationwide victories. He does not have a contract yet to run Nationwide events for Roush Fenway Racing as his Cup contract was signed just this past week.

 “We haven’t even talked about the Nationwide plans other than I am going to run less races,” Edwards said. “I don’t know how many I’m going to run. There are some I really love running. I will run Watkins Glen almost certainly. There’s a huge benefit to the Cup Series.

 “I’d like to run Kansas (near my home). I like Montreal. I like a lot of the races because they’re novel and they’re fun. Iowa is great. I just don’t know what I’m going to run yet.”

 Bowyer “working on” contract negotiations with R

 Clint Bowyer, as he has said in recent weeks, continues to work on re-signing at Richard Childress Racing.

 “We’re working on it,” Bowyer said. “That is the biggest thing as far as contract stuff. I feel like we are getting close and we are working on it and hopefully we’ll have that done.

 “But right now, I’m not worried about that at all. I’m worried about getting this thing back in the Chase and taking care of business on the racetrack.”

 Bowyer is winless this season and 12th in points. He hasn’t had a top 10 since June 26 at Sonoma and has only two top-10 finishes in his past nine races.