MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to make it work with his stepmother, trying harder and longer than he probably should have to stay at his late father's company.

But as the contentious contract talks dragged on, winning proved to be thicker than blood, and Junior decided to flee Dale Earnhardt Inc. to search for a more competitive ride.

Thursday's announcement should start a frenzied free agency period for NASCAR's most popular driver, who plans to finish his seventh season at DEI and move on to a better team in 2008.

"We danced around ... for quite a long time, and I think the negotiations went deeper and longer and more in depth than naturally they would go with any other owner-driver," Earnhardt said. "We never got close. Never got in the same ballpark."

Junior and his stepmother could never agree on their vision for the future of DEI. The driver is confident his father planned for him to someday run the organization, but Teresa Earnhardt would not give up control.

And when Junior demanded 51 percent ownership at the bargaining table, Teresa Earnhardt wouldn't budge. Their spat went public when she questioned his commitment, and Junior later said their relationship "ain't a bed of roses."

Although he feared backlash from fans upset that he'd turned his back on his father's dream, Earnhardt ultimately made a decision he believes his old man would have supported.

"It is time for me to continue his legacy in the only way I know I can — by taking the life lessons that he told me: be a man, race hard and contend for championships," Junior said. "That's what I intend to do, and I feel strongly that I would have my father's blessing."

Earnhardt is NASCAR's highest-paid driver, earning $20.1 million per year, a million more than No. 2 Jeff Gordon, and the bidding for his skill has already begun.

"704-662-9642, tell him that's my phone number," said car owner Chip Ganassi, who lured Juan Pablo Montoya away from Formula One this season to drive one of his Dodges.

Perhaps Teresa Earnhardt should shout out her phone number, too, now that she must rebuild the company without its star.

"While we are very disappointed that Dale Jr. has chosen to leave the family business, we remain excited about our company's future," she said in a statement. "Dale and I built this company to be a championship contender, and those principles still apply. Dale Earnhardt Inc. will win."

The late Dale Earnhardt started DEI in 1980 as a little company he hoped to someday hand over to his four children. DEI had grown into one of NASCAR's elite teams when Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, but it slowly has deteriorated since. The team currently fields cars for Earnhardt, Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Paul Menard.

Despite 17 career victories, Junior has never been a consistent championship contender. He flirted briefly with the title in 2004, but had a horrendous 2005 season, when his stepmother split up his crew and he finished a career-worst 19th in the standings.

Earnhardt rebounded slightly last season, when he made the Chase and finished fifth. He's yet to show any muscle this season, with three top-10 finishes through 10 races.

"At 32 years of age, the same age my father was when he made his final and most important career decision, it's time for me to compete on a consistent basis and contend for championships now," he said.

Earnhardt agonized over the decision and said telling DEI's employees on Thursday morning was one of the hardest things he's done. Underneath his party-boy persona, Junior cares terribly what people think and worries his father's fans will feel betrayed by this defection.