Junior defends stepmother, likes Martin in No. 8

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Dearest stepmother: I am sorry for the things I said about you last weekend at Michigan. I was frustrated that you wouldn't let me have the No. 8 to play with at Hendrick Motorsports next year and got carried away. Please forgive me.

Affectionately,
Junior

OK, so Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't directly apologize to Teresa Earnhardt after he was denied the number he has driven his entire Nextel Cup career at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

But he came close.

"I want to say it's about time we give Teresa a break," Earnhardt said during a Friday promotion in Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway. "She makes the decision on that number because she owns it.

"And as much as I am disappointed and frustrated over the fact that I don't get to keep driving the No. 8, the stuff that I read on the Internet and the stuff that I am hearing is going on, the remarks about her, directed toward her, I don't think anybody deserves that," he said.

I just think everybody needs to lay off a little bit because she was married to my daddy and I know he wouldn't be too happy about what's going on, what's being said about her. It bothers me a little bit.

-- Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt then said people need to take a step back, something he probably wishes he'd done before making the comments about how he wasn't surprised Teresa didn't give him the number based on past dealings.

"She hasn't done anything intentionally detrimental to me," Earnhardt said. "I've got a good future, a good opportunity on my hands. She's doing what she needs to do, what she feels like she needs to do.

"I just think everybody needs to lay off a little bit because she was married to my daddy and I know he wouldn't be too happy about what's going on, what's being said about her. It bothers me a little bit," he said.

It apparently bothered the son of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt a lot or he wouldn't have volunteered these words under a brutally hot sun before qualifying.

"I hate to see somebody be crucified on the Internet like Teresa has," Earnhardt continued. "She's got a daughter that goes to school, who's got friends that she has to put up with that stuff. It's just hardcore, man.

"People have been really, really rude and really way over the line on some of the things that have been said," he said.

This doesn't mean Earnhardt and his stepmother have made up and hugged.

If it was that easy he wouldn't have left DEI to join HMS next season, which means there wouldn't have been a battle for the No. 8 that has become synonymous with his name.

"When it comes to my driving career right now, I didn't like how it was understood between me and Teresa," Earnhardt said. "We obviously didn't have a good line of communication. We obviously don't understand each other. We obviously don't know much about each other.

"She underestimates my determination and willingness to give it all I've got. Obviously, I probably know that little about her and her determination," he said.

But this does mean Earnhardt isn't so torn up by the decision that he won't get involved with deals at DEI as Max Siegel, the president of global operations, has suggested might happen.

"I want the best for DEI, simply put," he said. "If there's opportunities for me to help them or if there are programs they want to involve me in that are interesting and are fun for me, I've got interest there and I'm wide open to doing those things because they make sense.

"But the relationship that I have with Teresa I disliked and I didn't enjoy and I didn't want anymore. That was the only single thing that has made all this what it is today. That will be the one thing I will avoid in the future when working with DEI," he said.

Earnhardt said an announcement on his new sponsor and number will likely come soon.

The sponsor is expected to be National Guard and a Pepsi product such as Mountain Dew. Earnhardt has mentioned the No. 81 as a possible replacement for the 8.

"I wish I could be in the No. 8," he said. "I don't think that's something that goes away or I get used to. The possibilities I'm looking at I like a lot and are pretty cool and I think I can make an identity with."

Earnhardt also likes the possibility of Mark Martin sharing the No. 8 next season with Aric Almirola.

"It's cool," he said. "I'd rather have Mark do it than anybody else. There's probably a lot of guys I'd hate to see in there. Mark's always been really, really respectful. That's all that matters to me."

David Newton covers motorsports for ESPN.com.

Source: ESPN.com