Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief replaced

[buddyjh]

CONCORD, N.C. -- The much-scrutinized era of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. is over.

Hendrick Motorsports announced on Thursday that NASCAR's most popular driver would have a new crew chief beginning with this weekend's Sprint Cup race at Dover.

Eury Jr., who has been the car chief or crew chief for his cousin for all but part of one season since Earnhardt began the Sprint Cup series in 1999, was fired and will be replaced by Lance McGrew on an interim basis beginning with the June 7 race at Pocono.

Team manager Brian Whitesell will serve as the crew chief at Dover. Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick's lead chassis engineer, will support McGrew on a fulltime basis in hopes of turning around a team that is 19th in points.

"Our performance hasn't been where it should be,'' team owner Rick Hendrick said in a release. "It's impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point. We have a plan in place, and we're going to move forward with it.''

Hendrick indicated on Tuesday that a change was being considered when he did not give Eury the vote of confidence he has on several occasions this season.

Thursday, he said that change became inevitable.

"It seemed the harder we pushed, the more it unraveled," Hendrick told The Associated Press. "We need a new reason to get up and go to the track each morning, and the chemistry had broken down between them to the point where we just needed a fresh start."

Monday's 40th-place finish in the rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Earnhardt's third straight finish of 27th or worse, apparently was the final straw.

"I kept waiting for the break, kept waiting for something positive to happen," Hendrick said. "Monday sure didn't help. I was talking to our guys and I just said, 'It's time, we've just got to do it."

Earnhardt and Eury spent Tuesday and Wednesday testing on the road course at Virginia International Raceway. Hendrick told them he was splitting the two when they returned Wednesday evening. He said they needed time to adjust to the split.

"I don't know that they were 100 percent, but by this morning, both of them said they were good," Hendrick said. "I don't think they felt good when I told them, but I think they'll feel better as the days go on."

"We're going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races,'' Hendrick said. "It's going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers. Everyone in our company will be involved on some level.''

McGrew, who plans a thorough evaluation of the No. 88 team's operations, felt the team has been preparing for races differently than Hendrick's other three teams. "I just believe there were some theories that they were using to making decisions by, that weren't necessarily the same theory that's on the rest of the complex," McGrew told ESPN.com's Marty Smith.

"The idea of having a multiple-car team is you can lean on your teammates. And you have to be within the same page to get any information. A lot of times they were not on the same page."

Earnhardt and Eury had one win, 19 top 10s and 11 top fives in 48 races after moving from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to HMS in 2008. Eury will move into what officials called a "key role'' in HMS's research and development group.

"I have mixed feelings, and that's just natural," Eury said. "But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be. I'll do whatever I can to help all of our teams and try to be a part of another championship. I think a new challenge will be good.'' Thursday's announcement came two months after Hendrick said he wasn't close to breaking up Earnhardt and Eury.

Hendrick said then Earnhardt and Eury each told him they would part if he didn't feel they were working well together. Race day communication has been a major issue, one that began when they were at DEI and one Hendrick began addressing last season when the team faltered in the Chase.

Eury told ESPN.com two weeks ago if Earnhardt didn't make the Chase he wouldn't blame Hendrick for making a change.

With Earnhardt 203 points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin for the 12th and final Chase spot, Hendrick decided the time was now.

"Tony and I talked through this last night,'' Hendrick said. "I want him here, he wants to be here, and he's going to be a big contributor to our future success. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for the job he's done and for the caliber of person that he is.''

Earnhardt's relationship with his first cousin has come under question many times over the years. It came to a head after a rough start to this season that had NASCAR's most popular driver 35th in points after two races.

Earnhardt came to Eury's rescue at Bristol with his fans screaming for a change.

"He gets criticized so bad,'' he said. "Everybody in this room ... knows how smart of a guy he is, certainly knows he's a good mechanic and a solid crew chief.

"He just wanted to do this for a living just like I do. I'll take the fall. I'd rather be crucified than him. Every time I read in the paper that people are on his case I feel like I'm sending my brother to jail for a crime I committed.''

Three straight poor performances apparently sealed Eury's fate.

McGrew, 41, has posted wins in all three of NASCAR's top three series. He won the Oct. 2006 Cup race with Brian Vickers at Talladega and helped Vickers earn the 2003 Nationwide Series title.

Most recently he helped rookie Brad Keselowski to a seventh-place finish in the May 9 Cup race at Darlington. McGrew and Earnhardt teamed in three Nationwide races last season, posting top 10 finishes at Teas and LMS and a 15th at Atlanta.

Earnhardt was scheduled to make an appearance in Michigan on Thursday and was not immediately available for comment.

[marty napier]

it about time!! thinks buddy

[jc7257]

Great move for Hendrick Motorsports. He is a better driver than his results have shown...

[luckylady7747]

I hope it works for both of them but I am not sure that is the problem. I guess we will see.

[Crystal Dragon]

Originally Posted by luckylady7747

I hope it works for both of them but I am not sure that is the problem. I guess we will see.

I agree with you on this!!!

[denalibabe]

Originally Posted by marty napier

it about time!! thinks buddy

narty and jell...you both called this one a couple of weeks ago. Now maybe we will see soem improvement. Go JR!! I know you have it in you!!

[black beard]

Just how does changing ones crew chief help you find your pit ??????

[jell691]

they get you one that tells you to pull your head out, instead of "your right jr."

[grandpaclint]

like they said above ITS ABOUT TIME just look at what Mark Martin is doing in the 5 car,,,,,,,,Hendrick rules

[tnp12]

that was long overdue, I hope that helps junior out. hes not the driver his father was but hes better that his points show right now.