Junior Has Brass Balls

I know this doesn't involve Philly Sports and a good number of you guys could give a rat's ass about Nascar, but I ask that you please bare with me...there's not a whole lot to write about at the moment!

I find the whole situation with Dale Earnhardt, Jr requesting 51% of his current employer, DEI, Inc, which was founded by his legendary father and now is run by his stepmom, absolutely fascinating....especially as someone who comes a from a similar family background as Junior.

Thankfully for me, my stepmother is great. Teresa Earnhardt appears to be a complete ice queen in comparison. Despite the differences, I think I have a good understanding of what is driving Jr. to make this demand.

Clearly, Jr. feels he is in the best position to fulfill his father's legacy with growing the company to it should be. Dale Sr was one of the best drivers of all time. His team should be one to contend with season in and season out. Right now, DEI has no chance to contend for the title, even though Jr. is a contender for a spot in the Chase for the Cup. Surely, he looks at Teresa as just a caretaker of the company, an outsider to the sport, and to some degree the family name. Apparently, Jr feels he's ready to take the reigns and can put the company where it should be in the grand scheme of all things Nascar.

Read this outstanding article on ESPN.com for the full flavor of the ordeal. My favorite part is where the writer suggests Jr. could end up driving a Toyota. Wow....I guess you have to know Nascar nation to fully understand how big a statement that is. If you ever see Jr. driving a Toyota, you better put a full out suicide watch over the South because those good ol' boys will not be happy.

Call me crazy, but I see some parallels between the T.O. situation and what Jr. is pulling now. Jr. seems to be showing the same giant brass balls that T.O. revealed 18 months ago. All that's missing is a sleaze ball agent like Drew Rosenhaus. Of course, Nascar is not the team sport that the NFL is, and Jr. is more akin to a superstar QB than a WR like T.O. However, the major difference is that Jr is holding all the cards in this situation. If he doesn't get what he's seeking than DEI is totally screwed. Comparatively, T.O. was just a pawn in the grand scheme of things and the Birds turned out to be just fine the season after he was jettisoned.

We all know how entertaining the T.O./Eagles saga was here in Philly. I'm telling you guys, even if you don't like Nascar, follow this one. It could be just as entertaining.