Daytona Beach, FL (Best E Casino) - A month ago, Teresa Earnhardt made some comments concerning her stepson Dale Earnhardt Jr. which made the headlines. Yesterday, Dale finally responded.

"I tried and tried not to comment on it," said Earnhardt Jr. during NASCAR's Monday teleconference at Daytona. "I didn't want to comment to the press on it...I was trying not to get involved in it. I really didn't appreciate it, whether she was taken out of context or not. I just didn't really appreciate it."

The comments, made on December 14th, questioned "Junior's" commitment to racing.

"Right now the ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality," she told the Wall Street Journal.

Earnhardt Jr.'s contract with DEI is up at the end of the season and contract negotiations are moving very slowly. There seems to be a possibility that he will not drive the No.8 Chevrolet after the 2007 season.

Should he become a "free agent" he would have no problem finding another great ride. He has talent and charisma.

Surely every team would be interested, including Richard Childress who teamed with Dale Earnhardt Sr. to win six "Cup" titles between 1986-1994. That could trigger the return of the famed No.3 to racing, something that fans everywhere have been longing for.

"Junior" and Teresa have always had a "strained" relationship, but lately it has been non-existent.

"Teresa is my stepmother and I have a mother at home that I have a very good relationship with," Earnhardt Jr. said yesterday. "Mine and Teresa's relationship has always been very black and white, very strict and in your face. It is what it is, not necessarily it ain't a bed of roses."

Because of their relationship, Teresa has removed herself from the contract negotiations. Richie Gilmore, director of motorsports at DEI, will handle it along with Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, Dale Jr.'s sister and business manager.

But it appears that there is a chance that "Junior" will drive for someone else in 2008 instead of the team started by his father.