Did Dale Earnhardt, Jr forget how to drive and how to win? Some say he never had it while some say his best days are behind him. Junior nation is split on who really is to blame. Is it Tony Eury, Jr? Is it Dale Jr? Or does the blame fall squarely on Rick Hendrick?
Who really is at fault for the demise of the 88 bunch?
In 2004 Dale Jr was on top of his game. He scored six victories and was in contention for the championship until his profanity slip-up during the Talladega victory lane interview cost him a 25-point penalty from NASCAR. That, coupled with two devastating DNF's, brought the dream of a championship in '04 back down to earth. At the end of the '04 season Tony Eury, Sr was promoted and his son, then car chief, Tony Eury, Jr took over the crew chief duties on the Budweiser Chevy for DEI.
Now let's stop right there; Could this be the straw that broke the camel's back? Let's weigh the facts and see for ourselves.
Under Tony Eury, Sr Dale Earnhardt, Jr scored 15 Cup wins, 1 Bud Shootout win, 1 All-Star Race win, 21 Nationwide wins, 6 poles and 2 Nationwide Championships. Under Tony Eury, Jr Dale Earnhardt, Jr has only 2 Cup wins, 1 Bud Shootout win, 1 Nationwide win and 2 poles. The other win for Dale, Jr came with Steve Hmiel at Chicago after Pete Rondeau had been relieved of his duties earlier in the year.
From a statistical standpoint it seems apparent that Dale, Jr's struggles come from atop the pit box. Since the switch after the '04 season Dale Jr's struggles seem to come back to one person. Even with the best equipment in the garage the 88 is getting worse and worse. Couple that with a revolving door of personnel and you can see why this team is struggling and the negativity continues to pile up.
The wonderful world of DirectTv HotPass gives fans a glimpse into the race day fish bowl that is a Sprint Cup Race Team. Fans get the chance to watch the broadcast of the race and hear radio chatter amongst the team. If you really want to know what's wrong with the 88 tune into HotPass for a race.
One of the knocks on Dale, Jr is that he isn't detailed enough in his feedback to his crew. One hour of DirectTv HotPass and you will quickly see that this is not the case. The feedback between Dale, Jr and Tony, Jr is no different than that of the 11,48, or 99. At times Dale, Jr can get a bit chippy with his guys but it is no different that any other chatter on pit-road. The problem appears to be that the changes to the car are not helping make the car better as the race unfolds. The one thing Dale, Jr gripes about the most in every race is forward bite. The car just won't bite off the corner. With the exception of the plate tracks, the constant complaint from Dale, Jr is that the nose is constantly sliding. Spring rubbers, track-bar, air pressure and wedge adjustments seem to be making things worse rather than better.
Could this all be the fault of Tony, Jr? I don't think so. Something is coherently wrong and most of the blame needs to fall back on the owner, Rick Hendrick. How did this team go from best of the Hendrick cars for the first half of last year to it's current spot in the HMS stables? Some say (and I tend to agree) that once Darian Grubb started flirting with the idea of going over to the newly formed Stewart-Haas team driven by Tony Stewart things started going south. Since that move Rick Hendrick has changed the car chief/engineer on the team 3 times and most recently changed out tire changers on the team. However, the results are the same and team continues to go backwards rather than forward.
Since the opening race of the year the 24 team has gotten better and so has the 5 bunch. The 48 is still strong and the new alliance with Stewart-Haas racing seems to benefiting the 14 and the 39. If those guys are getting better then why does the the Amp/National Guard team continue to struggle? Are they getting second-hand equipment? Are the engineers at HMS experimenting with the 88 team for the benefit of the 24, 48 and the 5? Something is wrong and personally I don't think Rick Hendrick is safe from blame or fault. He told the media last year that if Dale, Jr fails he fails; well at the moment he is failing despite what is going on with the other HMS teams.
If you take a look at the race cars and team uniforms of Hendrick Motor Sports you see a common thread. National Guard, Adidas, Amp, Wrangler, Delphi and Go Daddy all adorn the cars, uniforms and pit boxes. What do those have in common? They all have ties to Dale, Jr and his ability to land big time sponsors.
Is that why Rick Hendrick jumped at the chance to bring in the hottest free agent in the history of the sport in 2007? Maybe so; but to only bring in a guy for monetary assistance seems far fetched and unrealistic. What it does show is that Dale,Jr is not getting a solid return on his investment in HMS. For all he brings to the team and to the sport he deserves a lot better than what he is getting. The guy didn't just win races and championships by luck, he won them because he has the talent and the capability to run up front and be a factor week in and week out.
The main point here is that Dale, Jr and the 88 team are in inferior equipment. Bottom Line. Tony Eury, Jr is a good crew chief but not a great one. Now days you need to be great to be up front. Couple that with sub-par equipment and you have a recipe for disaster. Drastic Changes have to be made in order for Dale, Jr to be successful again. The blame centers on everyone involved with that team.
I see the fire in Dale, Jr; but I also see a guy who is taking one step forward and 5 steps back each race. If good things don't happen soon then the sport's most popular driver will always have a big question mark beside his name instead of the word Champion.
7 comments:
You are correct on many things. Dale Jr. did very well with Tony Eury Sr as his crew chief and has never been the same since. I think Dale Jr respects authority and he needs an older wiser crew chief and Rick Hendrick should get him one. Tony Eury Jr is a good car chief but he is not a good crew chief. Dale Jr needs someone like Andy Petree who he respects.
i believe your analsis is spot on i have time and time again watched Jr on hot pass he is driving his butt off and giving good feedback if the pit road mistakes dont get him lack of good pit srategy does him in I like tony jr but hey rick its time for a change for both their sakes and fans and sponsers of the 88 team im a 50 yr nascar fan and a former national stock champion from the 70s wise old racer
Hello,
I found this on jayski.com today.
Hendrick to swap #5 and #88 crew chiefs? Sources within Hendrick Motorsports confirmed to Captain Thunder that discussions were held over the Easter break regarding the possible switching of crew chiefs between the #5 and #88 teams. Mark Martin's crew chief Alan Gustafson was said to be on the block and was willing to move to the #88 team and Martin was willing to support the move. The discussions over Easter ended with an agreement between the two teams and Mr. Hendrick to keep their current teams in tact for at least three more weeks to see if both teams could improve on the slow start they have endured through the first part of the 2009 Sprint Cup season. Sources said Tony Eury Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin, and Gustafson all agreed that if Mr. Hendrick wanted a change, they would be willing to swap Gustafson for Eury Jr. However, with Martin's win Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix, any switch is now out of the question for the foreseeable future. Hendrick and Martin have no desire to take Gustafson away from the #5 team after the way they dominated the Phoenix race. Now, the timetable is set for the All-Star race at Charlotte on May 16th. If both teams continue to perform poorly, expect a change the week of the All-Star race. However, if Martin's team continues to gain momentum following their Phoenix win, and the #88 team continues to struggle, sources said Eury Jr. could be replaced by car chiefs Ron Malec of the #48 team or Jason Burdett of the #24 team.(CaptainThunderRacing.com and reported on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show by Capt Thunder)(4-22-2009) Comment here
Marybeth
It appears that your critical analysis of the 88's performance and its surroundings look on pointe. This is not about placing blame on anyone but if there is one to blame, Mr. H is the man in CHARGE.
Did it ever occur to people that maybe Teresa Earnhardt was right & little E needs to decide if he wants to be champ? Some of those "pit stop mishaps" were all on him. I don't believe Hendrick brought him on board just for sponsors. I'm sure nothing would please him more than to have all 4 teams at the top of the chase. When you read some of Junior's quotes after recent races you can "hear" something other than just frustration. I just wonder if his heart is really in the race.
...Just found this update to what I posted earlier.
"UPDATE: Will rumors of a Hendrick Motorsports separation of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. ever end? Ever? Ever? Never, as long as there are upstart, cottage-industry Web-sites churning this stuff out, and others linking to it. "There's absolutely nothing to this," came an e-mail reply from high-up inside Hendrick, when the latest one was checked. The latest report appears on Jayski.com, picked up from CaptainThunderRacing.com, that meetings were held over the Easter break at Hendrick. Supposedly there was discussion of swapping crew chiefs, with Eury going to Mark Martin, and Alan Gustafson going to Earnhardt, if the two teams' performances didn't improve within three races. Here's how screwy this stuff can get. Right in the middle of the CaptainThunder report, there's a line, "However, with Martin's win Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix, any switch is now out of the question for the foreseeable future." Then the report goes right on to say that new deadlines have been set for a possible switch: "If both teams continue to perform poorly, expect a change the week of the All-Star race." The wackiness warranted a double-check high-up at Hendrick, which brought the firm reply, "Not a shred of truth to any of it."(ESPN Insider)(4-22-2009) Comment here"
Marybeth
I'm sure that an air pressure change or fuel strategy or changing-up the pit cycle to get track position seems to be the solution in Eury Jr's mind but those tactics are only a small part of the technically advanced atmosphere in the garages and pits today. It seemed that after the only cup race win Jr has had in a few years that Eury hung his hat on fuel strategy. This is pure groping. It's known that if the sun goes down during a race so does the 88 car. Dale has the talent the chemistry just isn't there. I'm a Dale, Jr fan and when he said he'd rather drive out of the top 10 with Tony, Jr than win, I was shocked.
I've been a manager for a long time and if I had a crew that was sitting down on the job, I'd find a way to get some fore under them or show them the door.
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