With all of the issues with Dale Jr. and DEI ownership negotiations, Jr. jumps into the number 5 car and finishes the race at Texas because rival driver Kyle Busch can’t be found once his car was repaired. Talk about the Hatfields and McCoys, DEI and Hendrick? Please.

Apparantly Jeff Gordon is very upset about this. After all, this is the enemy getting a first hand look and feel of the Hendrick Motorsports cars and operations. Now the question. Is the writing on the wall for Dale Jr. to drive for Hendrick next year, or is this just a bunch of new fodder for all of us in cyberspace to talk about?

Should Budweiser, who has invested millions into Dale Jr.’s image be upset that he climbed into the Kelloggs Chevy, and right back with should Kelloggs be upset that a Budweiser uniform climbed out of their car at the end of the race? I can’t imagine there not being backlash with Teresa. I’m sure that set back negotiations at least a few weeks.

Check out NASCAR.com’s version of this story here.