Dale Earnhardt Jr. May Have Just Defeated His Wicked Stepmother

Has Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally defeated the Wicked Witch of NASCAR? Well … if you read the bricks in the yellow brick road just right, the answer may be yes!

In a pretty major move earlier this week, Junior applied for the trademark of his iconic No. 8 – which has been kept under lock and key for years now at DEI HQ by Teresa Earnhardt. 

No, not that DEI – the NASCAR DEI, which is Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. 

Teresa Earnhardt, affectionately known to NASCAR fans as the Wicked Witch of the South, has been judge, jury and executioner of DEI ever since Dale Earnhardt Sr. died back in 2001, leading to more family drama than an episode of The Kardashians. 

I'm talking major fallouts, yelling, finger-pointing, and petty moves – like holding the iconic No. 8 trademark hostage for the better part of two decades. 

But that may – may – be coming to an end next month:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt have a colorful past

So … what the hell does that mean? Well … here's the backstory. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and stepmom Teresa had a major falling out back in 2008 because Junior and siblings Kerry and Kelly wanted equal ownership rights to DEI. That didn't work out, Dale left for Hendrick, and Teresa instantly became public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of NASCAR fans. 

The battle over DEI has been a little more subtle over the past decade or so, but there have been little nuggets of info that have leaked over the years that make you say … oh. 

For starters, Teresa apparently once said that DEI would simply "make another Dale Jr." if he ever left the team. Not great! And also, very wrong.

Then there was Dale not being allowed to take the No. 8 with him to Hendrick, Teresa reportedly stopping Kerry Earnhardt – Dale Earnhardt's oldest son – from launching a line of homes called the "Earnhardt Collection," and the Kannapolis Intimidators changing their name in 2019. 

Why? The minor league team – now known as the Cannon Ballers – cited their inability to market the team due to trademark rights held by Earnhardt’s estate. 

Just recently, you had the famous Intimidator rollercoaster in Carolina go through a name change. It's now the Thunder Striker because …. you guessed it, the licensing agreement with DEI expired last December. 

Whew! What a history lesson on this Memorial Day weekend!

Anyway, Teresa and DEI still hold the trademarks for the 1 and the 8. They obviously don't own the numbers, which are currently being run over at Richard Childress (Kyle Busch) and Trackhouse (Ross Chastain), but they own the rights to sell any Steve Park or Dale Earnhardt Jr. merchandise from those DEI years. 

However, that could change here in the next few weeks. Of course, Teresa could pull the rug out from under all of us great NASCAR fans and bait-and-switch our asses into next year, so we'll see. Maybe she files for trademark renewal on June 2? Who knows!

Maybe, though, the two have started to patch things up from a pretty rocky few decades. Is this an olive branch from Teresa? Perhaps. 

Can't wait to find out! In the meantime, enjoy this little behind-the-scenes with former DEI employee – and current Trackhouse president – Ty Norris: