A move that seemed inevitable became essential after Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 40th place finish. Tony Eury Jr. was dismissed as crew chief for the #88 to be reassigned to another post within Hendricks Motor Sports. Most fans probably wonder, what took so long.
Complete details from NASCAR.com:http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/05/28/teuryjr.out.crew.chief.dearnhardtjr/story_single.html#page2
Communications foul-ups and pit row blunders had become all too frequent as was radio chatter indicating problems with the car setup as the driver struggled to work with his equipment. While other teammates, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin prospered, Dale Earnhardt Jr. could barely be seen as producing even average middle of the pack results.
This is not the first time that Earnhardt and Eury had issues. When they were teamed together at DEI, Theresa Earnhardt removed them assigning Eury to Michael Waltrip's #15 team for most of the season, but when the changes did not benefit either the #8 or #15 team, Eury and Earnhardt were reunited. The team finished in 19th.They would only have one more victory together at DEI in 2006 and would continue winless until last year at Michigan last June. After making the move to Hendricks, the #88 team began to show promise, but by late summer, the team’s performance was plunging just hanging on to make the chase and have not raced competitively in a points race since.
Coming to the hottest pit 100 feet higher than hell will be Brian Whitesell as crew chief this weekend. Lance McGrew will pilot the efforts as interim chief after that. McGrew has worked in a number of positions in the Hendricks organization leading the operation when part-time rookie, Brad Kesolowski runs with the team. He's also served as chief for Hendricks rides in the Nationwide series driven by Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch, Ricky Hendrick, and Junior himself. Whether he is the long term solution remains to be decided, but he is familiar with the Hendricks operation and its drivers.
Dover will be no easy test. It's one of the toughest tracks on both driver and crew. Pocono and then a much friendlier Michigan track await. Still, expectations run high and the Hendrick organization and fans alike will expect to see the #88 Chevrolet make a serious move toward being included in the chase.
As gut check time for Junior, it's time for him to think very seriously what would his daddy do. Even in the worst of times, the elder Earnhardt never let up and was always scheming what would it take to win. Junior must to the same or he'll follow in the footsteps of the only other son of a seven time champion to race in Sprint Cup, Kyle Petty. While Kyle did many great things for the sport, he could never be taken seriously as a possible champion. Folks will draw the same conclusion about Jr. soon if things don't improve.
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