Circle Track: As president of Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI), what are your responsibilities?
Don Hawk: I manage the affairs-endorsements, sponsorship packages, contracts, and personal matters-of Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as those of DEI drivers Steve Park and Ron Hornaday. I make sure that when Earnhardt straps into his famed #3 Chevrolet, he doesn't have to worry about business. My objective is that when Earnhardt retires as a driver, he and his wife Teresa won't ever have to worry about money.
CT: What is DEI comprised of?
Hawk: Four race teams, two for Dale Jr. in Busch and Winston Cup, Park's in Winston Cup, and Hornaday's in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series; Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, an automobile leasing company, rental and lease property, Black Angus cattle, and a poultry business through which we raise chickens for Perdue. We are active in the souvenir, apparel, and garment business and serve as spokesman for some of the world's finest products, such as Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Burger King, Snap-on Tools, and Chevrolet. Teresa is chairman, and Earnhardt is chief executive officer.
CT: How large are the new DEI shops, which resemble the Taj Mahal, near Mooresvlle, North Carolina?
Hawk: Altogether, more than 300,000 square feet. The main building is 202,000 square feet, which includes a new, 82,000-square-foot addition to house Dale Jr.'s Winston Cup team.
CT: How much did the facility cost?
Hawk: Way too much. (A Circle Track writer was served a Diet Coke in a glass of fine crystal-a touch of Teresa class.)
CT: Do you or Earnhardt make most of the major decisions?
Hawk: It's a threesome-Dale, Teresa and Don. Teresa is very sharp and is involved in almost every major decision.
Hawk: Yes, and that's unique in my relationship with Dale and Teresa. They respect the fact that I sometimes disagree. Ben Franklin said that when two people in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary. If I sit here as a yes man and let the Intimidator intimidate me, I'm not a very valuable employee.
CT: How is Earnhardt to work for?
Hawk: He's a bear-very tough and intimidating. My job is to turn lemons into lemonade so we can both drink and be merry.
CT: Can you give me a ballpark figure on how big the business is?
Hawk: It's a privately held company, so I can't release any numbers. The number Forbes Magazine used is $100 million.
CT: Does Earnhardt make more money off the track than on?
Hawk: That's a fair assessment. He makes a lot driving a race car and more than that off the track. (Forbes reports that Earnhardt earned $24 million in 1998, third behind Michael Jordan's $69 million and Tiger Woods' $27 million among pro athletes. According to the magazine, Jeff Gordon grossed $13 million.)
CT: Do DEI business matters detract from Earnhardt's commitments as driver for Richard Childress Racing?
Hawk: Not a bit. People talk about that a lot, and there was a time when Childress wasn't sure about that. When Dale buckles up, he's ready to race. He can focus in and focus out-like flipping a switch.
CT: Why has the business side of racing gone into orbit in the past few years?
Hawk: I think that NASCAR Winston Cup racing is on a parallel with the NBA and NFL. Our growth curve has been in the late '80s and '90s. We're seeing growth in merchandising, marketing, and strategic alliances with large corporations. There are corporations, led by Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 companies, involved in our sport that 10 years ago wouldn't touch it. A lot of credit goes to NASCAR marketing executives Brian France and George Pyne.
CT: In terms of business, are you aggressive?
Hawk: Extremely. I am a type A-driven person-ality. Oftentimes, my aggressiveness is seen as hostility and as a negative. There's always some stress involved in negotiating a deal, large or small. One thing I'll never do is compromise my integrity and honesty. And when I'm finished with a negotiation, I'm done. There are no hard feelings or bitterness on my part.
CT: What's the biggest business deal you've made at DEI?
Hawk: We sold one of our companies, Sports Image, which we had bought for $6 million, to Action Performance for $24 million in cash and $6 million in stock. That stock is worth $13 million now (as of September 1999). That's a handsome profit. And Action Performance has to pay Dale a guaranteed sum of money through 2013. Additionally, the Earnhardts' endorsement and sponsorship contracts with Budweiser are pretty big deals.
CT: As Earnhardt's number of wins has declined, have his souvenir sales dropped?
Hawk: No, his sales are as healthy as they ever were. There is a misconception about Dale's '99 season. He's won at Talladega and Bristol (through the first 26 races), but people forget that he also won a 125-miler at Daytona (and was second in the 500 and 400) and the IROC championship, winning three of the four races. I think all this is a sign that Dale Earnhardt is not done.
CT: How do Dale Jr.'s souvenir sales compare with his daddy's?
Hawk: Sometimes Dale Jr. is very close. At Richmond in September 1999, for example, Dale Jr. won the Busch race and finished 10th in the Winston Cup race. Dale finished sixth in the big race, and his souvenir sales edged his son's by a nose.
CT: How do Big Earnhardt's sales compare with Jeff Gordon's?
Hawk: I'd say now Gordon is a couple of percentage points ahead of Dale at some tracks, and at others, we outsell him. What's happening now is that Tony Stewart is in the mix. It's a guess, but I think Stewart has taken a piece of Gordon's sales, because both are young and run up front. We lose our sales of Dale Earnhardt merchandise to Dale Jr., but the proceeds don't leave the company.
CT: How much longer do you think Dale will drive?
Hawk: He has been presented a new contract to drive for Childress through 2002, with a one-year option, but he hasn't signed it (as of late September). Dale Jr. has asked his dad to drive for DEI as his teammate, and he's considering it. That's not to say Dale won't drive for Childress or that Steve Park would lose his ride. We'd add a third Winston Cup car.
CT: What was your first job in racing?
Hawk: My first full-time job was with Alan Kulwicki in 1992, the year he won the Winston Cup championship. If Alan (killed in a '93 plane crash) had lived, I probably wouldn't be working for Dale Earnhardt. Actually, my first offer came from Joe Gibbs when he was putting together his Winston Cup team (in 1991). But it didn't materialize because his sponsorship had not been finalized at the time.
CT: How long have you worked for DEI, and how did you get connected with Earnhardt?
Hawk: Seven years. At Dover, three months after Alan's death, Dale stuck his hand out the window of his race car parked in the garage and called me over. I was working for Geoffrey Bodine, who had bought Alan's team. I asked how he was running. He said he didn't call me over there to ask how he was running; he asked if I would go to work for him. I told him we could talk about it, but that I wasn't in any hurry to change jobs. His second question was how much money was I making. Then he said to meet him after practice. Meanwhile, Richard Childress told me he had recommended me to Dale, that he needed somebody to run his business. After practice, Dale walked up behind me, grabbed me by the shirt collar, took me to his hauler, and gave me three phone numbers. He said he was going on a hunting trip and that I should call him within three days. Obviously, I called.
CT: What were your interests in high school and college?
Hawk: Until 10th grade, I didn't care about school or whether I learned anything. I was a renegade, a loose cannon who spent a lot time in the principal's office. I had absolutely no focus. Then I had a (born-again) religious experience. I went with a bunch of kids to a revival camp meeting. I made the decision to change my life and that Christ was going to rule my life because I was an arrogant son of a gun.
CT: Were you interested in NASCAR and Winston Cup at an early age?
Hawk: Not really, just dirt track racing.
CT: How long have you been married to Cyndee?
Hawk: Going on 20 years. It's one of the finest things that has happened to me. It's a good balance. I'm wound to the max; she's very low-key, laid-back, and methodical. And she's smarter than I am.
CT: How many children do you have, and what are they doing?
Hawk: Four-Jessica, 17; Joy, 15; Jennifer, 14; and John, 13. They're all in Christian school in Concord (North Carolina). Jessica is a senior and will go to college next year. She's looking at Grove City in Pennsylvania.
Hawk: About 5 miles from DEI on 7.5 acres. We have a fishing pond and a swimming pool. My philosophy is, as my teenagers grow up, I want all the kids to hang at my house, because I want to be able to control the environment.
CT: What's your favorite leisure activity?
Hawk: Golf. I'm playing more often now and getting my game together.
CT: Age 44 and a native of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, you have a bachelor of science degree in Bible with a minor in history from Philadelphia College (now University) of Bible. Are you an ordained minister or teacher?
Hawk: I am not an ordained minister, but I am certified to teach Bible and Christian Education. Also, I'm on the board of trustees of my alma mater, and that's quite an honor.
Hawk: Lutheran. I grew up as an independent. My wife Cyndee is Lutheran, and after we were married, I didn't think it was fair to ask her to become an independent, especially because I travel 28 weekends or more a year.
CT: Do members of the Winston Cup racing family come to you with questions and problems regarding faith?
Hawk: Yes, I've had drivers, owners, sponsors, licensees, and licensors talk to me about life, death, babies, ethics, and morals. I think that's part of why I am where I am.
CT: Given this type of training, why and how did you get into racing?
Hawk: I've been around racing most of my life. When I was little, my parents and two older sisters took me to Dorney Park Speedway, a 11/48-mile dirt. I also hung around Nazareth (Pennsylvania) Speedway, which was owned by my brother-in-law before Roger Penske bought it. I developed a love for cars and speed. When I was 17, I got into the auto-mobile business, prepping new cars at a dealership in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After college, most people expected me to teach theology, but I returned to the automobile business and worked my way up to director of parts and services. I didn't feel comfortable at that time with being a preacher or a teacher. I spent 18 years in the car business.
CT: In demand as a speaker, what sorts of groups do you speak to?
Hawk: I try to do a lot of charities and big business, college and university business schools, churches, and religious organizations. Not all of my education came in a classroom-it came in the street, and street-smart is a little better.
CT: Aren't you a workaholic?
Hawk: Yeah, and to my shame, sometimes I work too much. If I had it to do over, I'd work less and spend more time with my family. But I get paid a lot of money for what I do, and I do it well. I think Dale and Teresa would allow me to have more time with my family; I just haven't taken it. I'm just starting to free myself up a little bit.
CT: In addition to receiving numerous honors and awards, including Ford Motor Company's Distinguished Service Award seven times when you were with Ford dealerships, major publications have ranked you among the top-25 most influential people in NASCAR. In what ways are you influential?
Hawk: It's an honor to be on that list. I think part of that is when I came to DEI, Dale's picture wasn't on cereal boxes, he wasn't with beverage, fast-food, or die-cast car companies. We brought a new business approach to DEI, but beyond that, I knew that my strategic alliance partner was NASCAR. I told Dale I could see huge growth in the sport over the long haul.
CT: Did you negotiate Dale Jr.'s multimillion-dollar Winston Cup contract with Budweiser?
CT: Is the six-year contract valued at $10 million per year as speculation indicates?
Hawk: It's for every bit of that amount. I can tell you that if we don't have $10 million a year on the #8 car, I'm not doing my job.
CT: What's the going rate of a first-class, primary Winston Cup sponsorship these days?
Hawk: To be competitive, between $6 and $8 million per year.
CT: Do primary sponsors demand more for their dollar these days?
Hawk: By far. A pet peeve of mine is that primary sponsors used to come into this sport to advertise. Now they come not only to advertise and demand greater performance, but they also want to make money off souvenirs, drivers' appearances, and that kind of thing. I think that's wrong. As the price goes up, sponsors deserve the right to make more demands, but only in proportion.
CT: Isn't Dale Jr. one of the hottest properties?
Hawk: Yes, already he's one of the top three.
CT: Has Dale Jr.'s success on and off the track surprised you?
Hawk: It came quicker than I thought it would. What has surprised me the most is his ability to handle his success, especially the media.
CT: Is marketability almost as important as driving ability for today's drivers?
Hawk: Absolutely. If you don't have it, you're not going to sell. It's that simple.
CT: From a business standpoint, what would be your advice to up-and-coming drivers with obvious talent?
Hawk: Find someone who is going to take care of you, treat you with respect, integrity, and honesty, and say no to the first guy who offers you a lot of money. Life's Little Instruction Book says to say no to something every day.
CT: Anything you wish to add?
Hawk: To me, I took the road less traveled. I decided to come to a sport that I knew nothing about and take a crash course in it. If tomorrow Dale and Teresa told me it was over, I could live with that and be happy. If they wanted to extend my contract five years, I'd say, "Go get the cake and light the candles." I can't emphasize enough that I'm 100 percent happy. Dale and I have a lot more money in the bank, a lot more friends in the world, and deeper relationships with corporate America than we had when we met that day at Dover.