Purchase of DEI not on Dale Jr.'s wish list anymore

JOLIET, Ill.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he's no longer interested in buying his father's race team should Teresa Earnhardt ever want to sell it.

Reports this week stated that Teresa Earnhardt might be looking to add an investor or sell Dale Earnhardt Inc. A DEI official denied those reports, stating the team was not for sale.

Earnhardt Jr. tried to get at least majority interest in the team last year before leaving to join Hendrick Motorsports. Not anymore.

"I don't mean this in a bad way, but I would not have any interest in purchasing it," Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday night at Chicagoland Speedway.

He said he wasn't aware of the reports this week and wonders if Teresa Earnhardt would really sell any part of the team.

"I didn't ever feel like she would be interested in selling the company, and I don't think that's in Teresa's character to give that company up," Earnhardt Jr. said. "She feels that strongly about it. She felt that strongly about it a couple of years ago. I would be surprised.

"But maybe she sees the trend and some of the other things that are happening in the sport with other owners and it's changed her mind."

Qualifying rained out

Qualifying for Saturday night's Sprint Cup race was rained out, so points leader Kyle Busch will start from the pole.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will also be in the front row for the LifeLock 400. Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson will round out the top five.

Staying put

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli affirmed that he'll remain at Joe Gibbs Racing after this season while Tony Stewart moves on to be an owner/driver at Stewart Haas Racing.

Stewart and Zipadelli have been together as driver/crew chief since Stewart's Cup debut in 1999 - the longest tenure among active drivers. So, now Zipadelli will have to work with a new driver next year. He was asked what he thought about 18-year-old Joey Logano, who competes in the Nationwide series for Joe Gibbs Racing and is believed to be a candidate to replace Stewart.

"He's a remarkable young guy, very mature for his age," Zipadelli said. "(But) experience is just priceless. It's one thing to do it in other divisions, but when they feed you to the sharks out here (in Cup), you're going against the best in the world that have tons of experience. I think by what we've seen so far, I think he has as good a chance as any 18-year-old to come into this sport and succeed."

DEI to appeal penalty

Dale Earnhardt Inc. will appeal the penalty NASCAR levied to Martin Truex Jr. and his team after his car failed inspection at Daytona last weekend.

NASCAR docked Truex 150 driver points, Teresa Earnhardt 150 owner points and suspended crew chief Kevin Manion and car chief Gary Putnam six races each, along with fining Manion $100,000.

Since the appeal has yet to be heard, both Manion and Putnam can work at the track and Truex does not lose his 150 points.

Back to work

Crew chiefs Jimmy Elledge and Peter Sospenzo have new jobs.

Elledge, who had been at Chip Ganassi Racing before he was let go recently, will serve as A.J. Allmendinger's crew chief.

Sospenzo will take over for Bill Pappas with rookie Michael McDowell's team at Indianapolis in two weeks. Pappas will become the head of engineering at Michael Waltrip Racing.