Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls nearly signing with Joe Gibbs Racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a big decision to make and two possible routes to go following his departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc. [DEI] after the 2007 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Having already made the decision to leave the company founded by his father, Earnhardt Jr. had two offers on the table — one from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and one from Hendrick Motorsports. The NASCAR Hall of Famer chose the latter, kicking off the second half of his career behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet. Though he has no regrets, Earnhardt Jr. still looks back on that decision, and how things might’ve been different had he signed up to drive for JGR.

“I don’t regret it, but probably going to Gibbs,” Earnhardt Jr. recently told Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “When I was looking at what I was going to do after [DEI], I literally was only looking at Gibbs and Hendrick. I’d went and met with Gibbs, we had a great meeting, and they offered me a contract to sign. And then I went to meet with Rick and he offered me a contract to sign.

“I have no regrets over how all of that played out. But you cannot help but wonder, ‘What would it have been like had I went the other route?'”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains NASCAR’s most popular driver after signing with Hendrick Motorsports

Joining a race team which included fellow to-be Hall of Famers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr. initially struggled, finishing 25th and 21st in the points standings in 2009 and ’10 respectively. Additionally, he endured a 143-race winless streak spanning four years before getting off the schneid in 2012. The back-half of his tenure at Hendrick was far more fruitful — three top-10 finishes in the end-of-season points standings. Earnhardt Jr. recorded nine of his 26 career wins at Hendrick before retiring from full-time competition in 2017.

Earnhardt Jr. spent the majority of his time at Hendrick carrying sponsors such as National Guard, Amp Energy Drink and Nationwide. And yet, he wonders how it would have gone had Budweiser had carried over with him from DEI to Hendrick.

“I often wonder had Hendrick been open to Budweiser coming along. How that might have fit into our 2008 season,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “There was some apprehension about having alcohol at Hendrick at the time… Budweiser had been there and left them… Budweiser was disenchanted a little bit with racing at that point and needed a new, fresh start.

“So maybe going with me wasn’t even in their interest, right? Trying something completely new with Kasey Kahne was more exciting. So I often wonder if Budweiser and I had been able to stick together what that might have been like.”