David Exum: Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs a new crew chief
COMMENTARY
If Dale Earnhardt Jr. expects to be successful in 2009, the first thing he needs to do is dump his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.
While it likely won't happen, Earnhardt Jr. should realize by now that his partnership with cousin Eury Jr. just isn't working.
Sure, Earnhardt Jr. made the Chase For The Sprint Cup in 2008, but he struggled considerably in the final 10 races of the season and finished 12th in the series standings. If Earnhardt Jr. wasn't driving for Hendrick Motorsports, his performance in 2008 would be considered acceptable.
Without a doubt, Eury Jr. is by far the weakest link on the No. 88 team, and it is definitely time for a change.
If you're a Dale Jr. fan and this upsets you, I'm sorry. But the No. 88 team isn't going to get any better until Rick Hendrick realizes that Eury Jr. needs to be replaced.
Earnhardt Jr. needs a crew chief. What he doesn't need is a guy like Eury Jr., who has to argue with his driver over the radio in order to get the most out of the car in each particular race.
Call me crazy, but I would love to see Jeff Hammond or Larry McReynolds become the crew chief for the No. 88 team. Earnhardt Jr. needs that kind of veteran leadership. Earnhardt Jr. needs a veteran crew chief he won’t argue with over the radio. If the crew chief says stay out and deal with it, you deal with it. You don’t moan and groan over the radio and demand to pit, and that’s something that Earnhardt Jr. does with a tremendous amount of frequency.
It would even be better if Tony Eury Sr., Earnhardt Jr.'s uncle, could become the new crew chief on the No. 88 team and keep Eury Jr. as the car chief. Maybe after a few seasons working as car chief, Eury Jr. could learn from his father how to better control Earnhardt Jr.
The return of Eury Sr. as the crew chief and Eury Jr. as the car chief, a tandem that worked with Earnhardt Jr. on the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team for three years, could definitely be what the No. 88 team desperately needs, but don’t hold your breath.
The No. 88 team did put up some impressive numbers in 2008. You can’t ignore 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. To do that would be foolish. Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth in the first race of the 10-race Chase For The Sprint Cup at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He was in position to gain ground the following week at Dover. But what happens? He goes out and finishes 24th at “The Monster Mile,” and his chances of winning the Chase or even making a threat are completely ruined.
I refuse to make excuses for Eury Jr. A good crew chief would have had his car finish at least in the top 10 at Dover. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s pretty pathetic to think that both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson’s crew chiefs had brains enough to find the right setup for Dover for their drivers to finish in the top 10, but not Eury Jr.
If you're thinking that the No. 88 team doesn't have a problem in the crew chief department, you are sadly mistaken. Winning races is what wins championships, and if Earnhardt Jr. truly wants to win a Cup title, he needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize the time is now to change crew chiefs.
