Rick Hendrick and Dale Jr.

If it was as simple as HMS buying the number from DEI, then it would be pretty simple. Either DEI's Teresa Earnhardt would make a deal with HMS chief Rick Hendrick or she would not, but it does not work that way. NASCAR owns car numbers, so they technically cannot be bought.

Hendrick has promised to help Junior deliver wins and a championship, but can he deliver the number 8 to Earnhardt? Hendrick has indicated he would like to secure the famous digit. Hendrick could offer DEI an "incentive" to give up the number, then request the 8 from the sanctioning body. A NASCAR official says they strongly discourage such a move. The final chapter of this story has not been written.