Especially if you’re Earnhardt Jr.

Like so many race car stars before him, the cockpit of his racer has become a sanctuary for the second son of Dale Earnhardt. If nothing else, driving the car takes his mind off the questions he’s about to face in the coming months regarding his future — while all of NASCAR nation speculates on those same questions.

Although inevitably cast as a celebrity-industrial-complex story, it’s a saga just as worthy of Shakespearean drama. A prince tries to escape the long shadow cast by a beloved dead king, which would be the story line from Hamlet.

If that seems far-fetched, this racing prince similarly spins out his own tale in a manner that underscores both his doubts about the future as well as his resolve to focus on winning races and championships, i.e. reclaiming the throne. Staying at Dale Earnhardt Inc., the driver has concluded, won’t get the job done.

In truth, in the absence of the company’s founder and namesake, the organizational chart at DEI has been insufficient under the pressure of grief. Since losing its edge at the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, DEI has slid into a funk. Everybody in the organization, it seems, has a vision of fulfilling Dale Sr.’s vision — but none of those visions match up.

The latest mismatch was the proposal by Dale Jr. and his sister/business manager Kelly Earnhardt Elledge to be given control of DEI by stepmother Teresa Earnhardt in order to resolve the ongoing funk. A bona fide business partner to her late husband, Teresa was asked to give away a multi-million dollar business on the basis that it could not survive without the presence of the family’s racing bloodline.

The garage at Darlington, in fact, was like a wake for DEI, which is assumed to be headed for the dumpster without the sponsorship dollars generated by Dale Jr. once he leaves in 2008. On the other hand, what business executive has ever been known to simply give away controlling interest of a highly profitable corporation?

A couple of historical perspectives can shed some light on the future of DEI. When Richard Petty left his family operation of Petty Enterprises at the end of the 1983 season, it shook NASCAR to its foundation. This was more like a king abdicating the throne. Petty went on to win his 199th and 200th races for the team of Mike Curb, but Petty Enterprises never quite rebounded, even though the King returned and it survived.

When the Wood Brothers fired David Pearson, who was almost like family, after a pit stop snafu in Darlington in 1979, that also was a sea change in NASCAR nation. The winning record of the Wood Brothers has not been the same since, even though it too survives.

In the current “split of the century,” everyone assumes the battle boils down to Dale Jr. versus his stepmother. But the heart of the story remains the missing king. For his part, Dale Jr. has become more endearing to fans and the media with his decision to become a free agent due to his forthrightness in stating his own vision about taking ownership of DEI and then the plaintive difficulty of making his decision to leave after being thwarted.

In truth, there’s a lot bigger window into Earnhardt Jr.’s soul due to his verbal skills than that of Dale Sr., who had his doubts and strategies but rarely acknowledged them. The gift of gab for Little E, ironically, comes from his maternal grandfather, race car builder Robert Gee. Whether Earnhardt Jr. has the ability to drive his way to a championshp versus his peers remains a valid question, but one that is rarely posed due to his down-to-earth, cool personality.

With what team will Earnhardt Jr. try to answer the championship question?

It is a safe assumption he will move to a Chevrolet team, but there are problems in all directions nevertheless.

A move to Richard Childress Racing may well replicate the current dilemma of living in the shadow of a seven-time champion, since Earnhardt Sr. won six of his titles in RCR’s cars.

The team of Rick Hendrick, also a winner of six championships, has grief issues in the wake of the tragic plane crash that killed Hendrick’s brother, his son, several other family and team members just under three years ago. Winning races and contending for championships has gone a long way to resolve the Hendrick team’s spirit, especially the team owner’s. Given the overwhelming success this season by Jeff Gordon following last year’s Nextel Cup title by Jimmie Johnson, why mess with the team chemistry by cutting loose Kyle Busch or Casey Mears?

At Joe Gibbs Racing, the team owner does not want beer sponsorship, even if his superstar Tony Stewart gets along well with NASCAR’s most popular driver. Will Earnhardt Jr.’s current Budweiser sponsor allow itself to be out-bid by a competing sponsor? Don’t bet on it.

Ginn Racing, meanwhile, hasn’t won as many races as DEI, much less a championship. Landing a semi-retired Mark Martin is not the same as a potential winner of multiple championships who is in the prime of his career.

Finally, there’s always JR Motorsports, the Busch Series team owned by Earnhardt Jr. It could become a satellite operation with cars and engines from Hendrick Motorsports, much like Ginn Racing. Chevrolet might facilitate such a deal, even though JR Motorsports has yet to win a race. But would it re-create the problems suffered at DEI, where not enough money, in the opinion of Earnhardt Jr., is being spent properly on engineering and engines. How could a start-up Nextel Cup team entirely dependent on sponsors and race winnings fund the necessary budget?

In the long view, it’s impossible not to commiserate with Earnhardt Jr., who seemingly is always caught on the rumble strips between triumph and tragedy. He may be able to put the smell of money into the air in the form of sponsorship and race victories by becoming a free agent, but which way the championship breeze blows still may not be within his grasp.

Jonathan Ingram can be reached at jingram666@cs.com.