Rondeau comments on dismisal from #8 - MakingLaps.com Forum

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TOPIC: Rondeau comments on dismisal from #8

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Date: Mon May 30 11:41:59 2005

Rondeau comments on dismisal from #8	Permalink

Pete Rondeau, former crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr, had some very interesting comments regarding his dismisal as crew chief of the #8. For his comments on Jayski.com, read below: Rondeau comments....contract issue? no sharing? Pete Rondeau said he signed a three-year contract when he agreed to be #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief before the Nextel Cup season that never was signed by owner Teresa Earnhardt. In the contract, according to Rondeau, there was a clause that stated he was to be given six weeks notice if performance was in question. “I just show up on Monday, and I’m out of a job,” he said on Saturday. Richie Gilmore, the director of motorsports for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, declined to comment on the contract or the clause. Rondeau, who was replaced on an interim basis by Steve Hmiel, said that wasn’t the only promise the company failed to keep. He said Earnhardt’s former team, which is now with #15-Michael Waltrip, never shared information. “There was probably a little bit of a sore spot between the old eight team and us,” said Rondeau, who was Waltrip’s crew chief last season. “Tony Eury Sr. (Earnhardt’s former crew chief), was supposed to be working amongst the two teams. I probably saw him once at Daytona and never saw him again after that. When you’re a single-car team in a multi-car organization, that’s not going to work.” Rondeau said he wasn’t aware of the communication problem Gilmore and Earnhardt cited as the reason for his dismissal. He reminded that the team was 11th in points and had five top-10s after a slow start. “What he got during the race was what he asked for,” said Rondeau, who does not plan to bring legal action against DEI. “During the first two races I was giving too much, but he didn’t want to know the changes (to the car). He just wanted to be the driver and let me be the crew chief, so I backed off. The latest thing I heard was he wasn’t getting enough. I’m not sure he knew what he wanted. Maybe he just wanted somebody to argue with on the radio, and I wasn’t interested.” Rondeau said Gilmore offered him a part-time job as the car chief for the #1 car the remainder of the season. Rondeau is supposed to make a decision by Monday, but because the car is scheduled for only four more races, he is leaning toward not accepting. Rondeau said he has talked to several other teams about a crew-chief job.(The State)(5-29-2005) -- Edited by openwheelracer at 11:43, 2005-05-30 __________________

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