Dale Earnhardt Jr Set to Recoup the Intimidator’s Legacy With Stubborn Stepmother Losing Ground in Legal Battle

There seems to some reconciliation between Dale Earnhardt Jr and his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt. The two have been involved in a near 23 year family feud over The Intimidator’s NASCAR team, but it may be drawing to a end. A few days ago, Earnhardt Jr. appreciated Teresa’s efforts in protecting the family legacy and now he is closing in on acquiring the rights for the famed No.8.

With Dale Earnhardt passing away in 2001 and leaving a glittering legacy of race wins, he did leave his children’s future in a jittery position. His NASCAR team, Dale Earnhardt Inc. was passed into the hands of his third wife and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, as the result of prior legal and business arrangements. Ever since then, Junior, who is NASCAR’s most popular driver, has fought for rights to the No. 8, a car he holds fond memories of, and to his misfortune, his stepmother has strictly denied him his father’s legacy for all these years.

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In the 1980s, The Intimidator fashioned his own race team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., to field cars in the Busch Series. Then his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr brought the No. 8 car to the team in his 1999 debut, claiming 17 of his 26 career victories in the DEI No. 8 Chevrolet. This also included the Daytona triumph in July 2001, only months after Earnhardt’s passing on the same track.

Hence, for Dale Earnhardt Jr the No. 8 car carries some heavy memories. But then, when he tried to take the number to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, his stepmother took a firm stand. Teresa Earnhardt demanded a part of the licensing revenue and wanted the number back after Junior was done with Hendrick. Thus began Dale Jr’s struggle to regain his father’s legacy.

However, it looks like, after 15+ years, the time has come for Dale Earnhardt Jr to proudly reclaim the No. 8 again. Today is the day he will be free from the clutches of Teresa Earnhardt. Joey Tartamella reported on X, “Today is June 3rd 2024. Dale Earnhardt Inc is officially expected to relinquish the rights of the 8. As my last report on this with @BrakeHardBlog. DEJ Holdings LLC have gone forward with acquiring the rights, currently it is awaiting review but expect more news soon 👀”

The trademarks for both the #1 and the #8 logos used by DEI were set to expire on June 3. And in case, there weren’t renewed, Teresa’s control over those logos would finally be released. Although she did file for the No. 1 renewal, Teresa chose to be silent for the No. 8. The deadline came and went by and in between it was reported that Earnhardt Jr. had applied for the trademark of the #8.

Thus, Dale Earnhardt Jr is finally expected to be the rightful owner of No. 8, ready to roll out merchandise to his fans. This comes as a relief for Earnhardt’s friends and fans.

Although Dale Earnhardt Inc. merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009 to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Teresa Earnhardt held on to the trademarks of the team’s cars. She lost the No. 15 rights a few years ago to Michael Waltrip, who previously drove that number.

But she remained stubborn with the rights for the #8. Even when Budweiser honored Dale Jr’s career in 2018, they did not feature his No. 8 car, probably because Teresa Earnhardt refused the permission. However, it seems that after 23 long years; the battle is slated to end.

A few days ago in his podcast, Earnhardt Jr. had kind words for his stepmother despite the bitter nature of their long-drawn battle. He said, “There’s one thing that I’ll say about Teresa, is in terms of owning a trademark and protecting things like that, protecting our legacy and our family name, I have a lot of trust in her around those things. She’s very smart, very savvy, always thinking. She takes some emotion out of business decisions and says, ‘This is what’s fair. This is what’s right.’

Even though situation is looking in Earnhardt Jr.’s favor right now, if you flip through the pages of history, there was a time he was satisfied with washing his hands of the chaos.

Dale Earnhart Jr. was ready to “let it go”

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After Dale Earnhardt passed, Teresa Earnhardt took control of his NASCAR team as she established firm control over DEI’s intellectual property, even going against family to retain it. Besides her tiff with Dale Earnhardt Jr, the team owner also locked horns with her other stepson.

It was when, Kerry, Dale Jr’s half-brother, once decided to honor his father’s legacy, and had even announced plans to roll out a line of homes and furniture called “The Earnhardt Collection.” But Teresa being Teresa, reacted strongly, filing a lawsuit over the usage of the Earnhardt name.

Hence when Dale Earnhardt Jr lost his No. 8 car’s rights, he was slightly content. Although it stung bitterly to see his dad’s legacy go, he thought it was best to avoid the family feud. Dale Jr told ESPN in 2008: “Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe it’s sort of a blessing in disguise to really make a clean break. If I was to get the 8 and allow Teresa to still have control over it, I would still have to deal with it. That is not what I wanted. I have to let it go.”

However, as the tides are changing, Dale Jr is now ready to welcome back the No. 8 to his fold.