Make sure to check out the Recent Diaries area for all the straight scoop from the source(s)!

I tend to take Mike Mulhern stories with not so much as a grain of salt but rather a whole salt lick, given his penchant for throwing personal conjecture and/or whatever unverified gossip he hears out there underneath the hard news label.  However, sometimes he gets it right.  And should he be right this time, the never-ending saga that is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s contract negotiations is now kicked up a notch.  And like the hydra, the moment you think any given aspect has been put to rest, it grows another head.

According to the story, Junior is now leaning toward signing on with Hendrick as his goal is winning a championship.  Should this be the case, what team would better to hitch your star to than Hendrick?  Set aside Casey Mears' run of wrong place wrong time rotten luck runs, and you have three of the, if not the three period, most dominant teams in NASCAR top to bottom.  Of course it helps having Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch (say what you want, but the kid can drive) behind the wheel.  However, setting aside the drivers for a moment it's obvious Hendrick has both the skill level and work ethic needed to run on top in NASCAR.  What driver wouldn't want to go there?

Ah but wait, one might think.  What about the four car per team limit?  Unless Rick Hendrick were to bit one of his current drivers adieu, which is not going to happen, there's no way to shoehorn Junior into a Hendrick car...

... or is there?

As the article mentions, Junior could go to one of the smaller teams using Hendrick technology.  The logical choice would be HAAS CNC Racing.  Gene Haas has no problem spending money on his teams -- witness the forty million or so dollars he's sinking into a wind tunnel with a rolling road feature -- and despite his legal woes (the case is scheduled to go to trial this September), the team itself is said to be on solid ground.

In any case, at this point in time Junior and DEI are both best advised to wash their hands and walk away from each other.  There have been far too many harsh words fueled by embittered family ties gone awry for this to work.  Signing on with Hendrick would eliminate the stock excuse offered by the red army ants as to why their boy hasn't won a Cup being DEI (not to mention making the hardcore Hendrick haters heads explode, which would be ever so amusing to see).

What will actually happen remains to be seen.  In the meanwhile, that hydra keeps growing.