On both a competitive and an economic level, this deal makes perfect sense. Emotionally, however, Earnhardt Sr. loyalists wanted Junior to land at Richard Childress Racing, where the elder Earnhardt won six of his seven Cup championships.

While that would have made for a nice story, Earnhardt desperately wants to win a championship, and the bottom-line reality is that Childress has not won a title since 1994. His three drivers this year — Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bower — are all currently in the top-10 of the point standings, but they have combined for only two victories.

No, Earnhardt’s best chance to win a championship anytime soon is with Hendrick Motorsports. And the best way for Hendrick Motorsports to remain dominant is to add a money-machine like Earnhardt.

To some observers, especially hardcore fans, this combination makes no sense. Earnhardt is seen as a throwback to his daddy, a driver from rural North Carolina who worked his way slowly through the racing ranks and stays true to the roots of racing. He is more spit than polish.

Hendrick, on the other hand, is pure 21^st-century NASCAR. Very corporate, very sophisticated. Gordon and Johnson were both born in California, and both burst onto the Cup scene before some thought they had paid their dues (they quickly proved they were ready).

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Hendrick and his drivers are the red wine of NASCAR. Earnhardt, as his sponsor attests, is the Budweiser. These are two drastically different worlds colliding. Some Earnhardt fans already were complaining about the move Tuesday afternoon on various NASCAR message boards.

Of course, these are the same fans who threw beer cans at Jeff Gordon after Gordon won at Talladega Superspeedway earlier this year. Now Earnhardt and Gordon are going to be teammates? How can this be? Does this mean they have to throw cans at themselves?

Given time, Earnhardt’s fans will come around. After all, the move to Hendrick will make it easier for Earnhardt to win races. And his fans should remember that every time he wins, it means Gordon is left out of Victory Lane.

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