JUNIOR SEARCHING FOR HIS NEW VEHICLE.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK

MOTOR SPORTS

Let the bidding begin.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a free agent. He won't be back with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his late father started in part so his son could race for a championship-caliber team at the Cup level.

Earnhardt Jr. announced Thursday that he will leave DEI after the 2007 season. It ends months of contentious negotiations between Earnhardt Jr. and the team, run by his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt.

To complicate matters, Earnhardt Jr.'s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, has been handling the negotiations for her brother.

Three questions come to mind in the wake of the announcement.

One: How much is Earnhardt Jr., arguably the most popular and talented driver in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, worth?

Two: Where will he fit in?

Three: Would this even be an issue if Dale Earnhardt was still alive?

This is much different than any other driver in NASCAR suddenly becoming available. This is like Kobe Bryant deciding he wants to play for a different team in the NBA. Only Bryant is the son of the owner.

Wanting to play for another team is not only showing no loyalty for the organization, it could be seen as showing no loyalty for his family.

It is a point Teresa Earnhardt decided to highlight. She announced in a statement regarding Earnhardt Jr.'s decision to leave the team that: "This company has a great legacy and a bright future, built on loyalty, integrity, and commitment."

Reading between the lines, it appears Teresa Earnhardt believes Earnhardt Jr. lacks any loyalty, integrity or commitment to his family or the team.

But Earnhardt Jr. said quite the contrary when he met with reporters at his JR Motorsports shop in Mooresville, N.C., to announce his plans.

"This company is still part of our family," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's what my father built and conceived with his hard work and we want to see it succeed and be successful."

There was never a doubt who Dale Earnhardt Inc. was supposed to benefit. It was built for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Teresa and Dale Earnhardt founded the race team, but it was to make Junior a star.

Somewhere along the way, after Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the face of NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Inc. lost its purpose. It was no longer the vehicle to make Junior the most popular, most talented driver in NASCAR. It was no longer the vehicle to make Junior a Cup champion.

It became Teresa Earnhardt's team. Perhaps it's not the way Dale Earnhardt would have liked to see things play out, but by most accounts, he would not have stood in the way of his son's pursuits.

Earnhardt Jr. said he wants to drive for a team that can win championships and provide him with the best opportunity to win races. He has most of that at DEI, but he reportedly wanted more control of the team to ensure that the level of quality didn't slip, even though he said that didn't affect his decision.

"This decision made today is based solely on my driving career," Earnhardt Jr. said, "not my personal interest in my involvement in DEI."

His value is immeasurable. He has been voted the most popular driver in NASCAR ona regular basis. He has won 17 races over his career, including the Daytona 500. Hehas shown his prowess on short tracks, restrictor-place tracks and speedways. He has been a Chase participant and a championship contender almost every year that he has been in Cup.

But he hasn't won a Cup championship.

There are a number of teams that could provide him with that opportunity. Earnhardt Jr. expressed his interest in continuing to drive Chevrolets. That would eliminate the Ford teams of Roush Fenway Racing and Robert Yates Racing. It would also eliminate any of the Dodge or Toyota teams that might be interested in Earnhardt Jr.'s services.

Hendrick Motorsports would be the most obvious choice of the Chevrolet teams. But would he be able to co-exist with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson? Every team has only enough room for so many stars. That would give Hendrick three, perhaps even too many for the best team in NASCAR.

The next obvious choice is Richard Childress Racing. Dale Earnhardt won six of his Cup championships with Childress. But how would Kevin Harvick, the top driver at Childress and the driver who replaced Earnhardt, react to having Earnhardt Jr. in camp? Just when it looked like Harvick was escaping Earnhardt's shadow, with his own team and own sponsors, Earnhardt Jr. would be there to stir up all those emotions that swept through the team in the aftermath of Earnhardt's death.

Then there's Joe Gibbs Racing. That might be the best fit. Tony Stewart is still the star of the team, but Denny Hamlin has been the best driver over the past two seasons. Stewart doesn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight or seeing Hamlin get some of the attention. In some respects, it appears Stewart prefers it.

If Joe Gibbs Racing looks like the right fit, does that mean J.J. Yeley should be worried? It seems he would be the first driver to go if Earnhardt Jr. came on board.

Yeley, Clint Bowyer at Childress and Casey Mears at Hendrick should be the most nervous drivers in Cup until Earnhardt Jr. makes his decision. Adding a team is expensive and NASCAR mandated a limit of four cars per team a couple years ago.

Hendrick is already there. Childress and Gibbs each have three and might not want to expand.

"I can't really speculate or guess on what individuals might be interested in what we're going to do in the future," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I guess that'll be a case-by-case basis and whatever opportunities might be out there for them.

"It doesn't cost anything to listen. So we're going to listen to whoever wants to have a conversation with us."

That's going to be a long line.

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(color) "I drove for DEI my entire career, it's been successful and a lot of fun," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday.

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images