Crew Chief Ruins Earnhardt Jr.'s Possible Win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. chose to race in Saturday's Nationwide Series race because he doesn't consider himself a great road course racer and wanted to get more experience to help his team get a better finish for Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.

Next year, he might think about serving as crew chief in the Nationwide event so he can overcome blunders like the one Tony Eury Jr. got the No. 88 into Sunday afternoon while Earnhardt Jr. was leading.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 33 of the race's 90 laps, but he didn't lead anymore after a caution came out while he was leading on lap 64.

At that point, nearly the entire field had already pitted thanks to the road course strategy of trying to minimize pit stops by counting backwards from the finish to calculate fuel mileage.

Eury Jr. had opted to keep his driver on-track for several laps after those pit stops even though his lap times were nearly a second slower than the drivers who had previously pitted.

By not pitting, Earnhardt Jr. was flirting with disaster if the caution flag did wave because the field would be able to close to his rear bumper and nearly no one would pit under the yellow flag, meaning Earnhardt Jr. would find himself deep in the pack behind all the cars that had pitted.

That disaster started to develop on lap 63 when a car ran through the runoff area gravel and brought some into the racing line when it came back on track. The caution was nearly imminent, and if Eury Jr. decides to bring Earnhardt Jr. down pit road at that moment, he likely stays ahead of the rest of the field or doesn't lose much position at all.

But he didn't.

And the caution waved just as Earnhardt Jr. passed the pit road entrance, sealing his fate deep in the pack.

I don't understand the gamble made by Eury Jr. one bit for a number of reasons -- the highest being that Earnhardt Jr. wasn't helping his cause at all by staying on the race track.

At the very least, though, someone in that No. 88 pit should have seen the TV replay of the rocks flying onto the track and got Earnhardt Jr. down pit road before the caution because the rest of the world knew at that moment that the caution flag was going to wave soon.

That didn't happen, though, and Earnhardt Jr. took a race car that was strong enough to pull to the lead and stay there and finished 22nd.

If Earnhardt Jr. wants to win more races and a championship, calls like that from atop the pit box simply cannot happen.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

8-10-2008 @ 7:13PM

Dirt Rhodes said...

Jr's devotion to his family members is admirable, but he must decide which he wants most, to be a contender or an enployment agency.

8-10-2008 @ 8:39PM

JOANNE said...

IF JUNIOR REALLY WANTS TO WIN HE NEEDS TO DROP TONY IT'S NOT THAT TONY'S A BAD GUY BUT YOU EITHER WANT TO WIN OR KEEP CARRYING OLD BAGGAGE GET A NEW SUITCASE JUNIOR

8-10-2008 @ 8:38PM

8-10-2008 @ 10:58PM

pat paynter said...

HE SHOULD GET RID OF FAMILY AND HIRE SOMEONE WHO WOULD DO WHAT IS THE BEST FOR "E" WE LOVE HIM AND THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY TIMES. PAT PAYNTER

8-11-2008 @ 12:03AM

marty said...

This is just getting old. Every time jr. gets ahead tony calls something stupid and ther goes jrs chances. Its time to get off the pot

8-11-2008 @ 1:07AM

anna seitter said...

UP TO LAST FEW DAYS I SUPPORTED JUNIOR WISH TO keep his cousin as a crew chief but, i'll tell you:
Now he is starting to get on my nervous and disappoint me.
TOO MANY MISTAKES. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!.
CHAMPIONSHIPS are won by making the right decisions on pit road ,on the tracks,winning and staying highly competetive when the driver does not win.It all blends togheter and tony fury
is not blending in anymore.
Does not work for me....

8-11-2008 @ 1:11AM

Don Emerson said...

Well, well, well....Eury strikes again. I wonder what kinds of excuses all you Eury defenders will come up with now to defend his latest mistake. I've said from the start that Jr should have left Tony behind when he changed teams. All season long I've stated that the main thing holding Jr back was Tony Eury. You scoffed and called me a dumbass for even suggesting such a thing. What have you got to say now, or is this not proof enough of what I've been saying all along. In case you haven't noticed it, Jr has been an unhappy camper for several weeks. Jr knows the problem,but is reluctant to deal with it out of a sense of loyalty. That makes Jr a nice guy, but won't win him many races or give him much of a chance once the chase races kick in. Jr knows he needs to step it up a notch, but he can't with Eury calling the shots. so, it's up to you, either come up with new excuses for Eury's shortcomings, or join me in letting Jr know that enough is enough. Fan or fool......which are you? Works for me....

8-11-2008 @ 4:36AM

angala yeager said...

Dale I Loved your father when he raced and I like you to I am glad you carried on the family tradition and stayed in nascar after your lost of your father you are doing a great job on the tracks and keep up the good work.

8-11-2008 @ 8:10AM

Mike LeVan said...

Tony Jr has made some good calls this year but this certainly was not one of them. It was probably all part of the show though. The reason Jr was out in front as far as he was is due to the fact that unlike everyone else, he had not pitted. So it looked like he was blowing the field away when actually he was not. Had he come in to pit he would have been closer to 12-15th place when he came out. But in putting on a show it cost them 15 or so positions on the track. This was a bonehead move but to say it cost him a chance to win the race is a bit dramatic. Had he pitted under green and gotten back on the same pit cycle as the other top drivers he would not have been near the front of the pack to begin with.
Jr does deserve great credit for the way he drove through the massive crash and avoided hitting any of the other cars. Now that was some fancy driving there boys. Maybe he can give Newman some tips.

8-11-2008 @ 9:18AM

Edward Schipper said...

Its time to change now,, that was one big blunder. why did he keep him out how stupid can that be,

8-11-2008 @ 6:51PM

Linda said...

what was the reason for staying out on the track, he needed to pit like everyone else, why wait?

8-11-2008 @ 7:38PM

CJ said...

Ive been saying this since last year. The only team i ever heard that was interested in Eury Jr without Dale Jr was Yates Racing. I could've called that race better than Tony Jr. It was pretty obvious that Jr could've made the best move by ducking on pit road right before the caution flew, but he passed it and that right there just another showing off the idiot that sits on the pit box. I will never endorse Eury Jr as the crew chief, and hopeful Dale Jr realizes it and tries to salvage his career by finally getting rid of that lard moron.

8-12-2008 @ 8:48PM

99fan said...

i am a carl edwards fan and i can say that eury jr has cost dale jr AT LEAST two wins or top 5 finishes.

8-13-2008 @ 6:41PM

rocky1 said...

I was on the edge of my seat. What was Eury thinking about? Jr. had such a great car, such a big lead and everyone else was in and out of the pits. It's time to let the relative thing go and get on going and get the CHAMPIONSHIP you are capable of getting.

8-13-2008 @ 9:48PM

ART said...

IT IS TIME THAT RICK HENDRICH STIRRS THE POT AND PUTS SOMEONE ELSE IN TONYS SPOT. GORDON HAS THE SAME PROBLEM .

8-14-2008 @ 8:23AM

Kim said...

You people crack me up! Where were all of you earlier in the season when Don & I were the only two people calling for Eury Jr.'s head? We got slammed by many Jr. fans, didn't we, Don? I guess NOW he has finally done something that couldn't go unnoticed. Jr. didn't have the "best" car in the field that day, but he did have the best position. Jr. also does well when running up front and probably could have remained there had such a bonehead call not been made on his behalf. I have never understood why Eury Jr. went with Earnhardt. I have said from the beginning....New team, new sponsors, new owner, new crew, and NEW CREW CHIEF!

And Art, for once you and I agree. I don't know what is wrong with Steve Letarte but it is quite apparant that something is very wrong! For Gordon to go so far into the season without a win, just isn't NASCAR. I know it's not the driver in this case, so the blame must be laid upon Letarte, IMO.

Kim

8-14-2008 @ 8:32AM

Forgot to mention....not only did Eury Jr.'s bonehead call assist Jr. in losing the race, it also dropped Jr. in the points standings for the first time all season. I believe Jr. lost his 3 rd. place standing (something he has held all season consistently), and is now sitting in spot number 4 or 5. That's an awful big mistake to make when you are fighting for all the points you can get not to mention your first Sprint Cup Championship!

8-14-2008 @ 9:41AM

Kim, I will agree that the call cost Jr some positions, but the reason he was so far ahead of the pack was because he had only pitted once. Everyone else had already made the second pit. At any time, had he pitted the second time, he would not have been in the lead. The field was very spread out at that point and he would have still been close to the front instead of the last car on the lead lap. As reported, he was running a full second slower than the cars that had pitted. He had a 20+ second lead on the pack. The only reason I can conclude for leaving him out there was for show and it cost Jr a top 10 or possibly a top 5 finish at that point. Jr deserved better this time.

8-14-2008 @ 10:05AM

MrZee said...

Mr Hendricks, Your the boss. Make some changes. Let the winners win..

8-14-2008 @ 3:25PM

I had just about enough of TONY FURY MISTAKES and as i said above i will not support junior wishes about his cousin anymore. Nevertheless i believe TE bad call cost junior a top 5
finish and not a win. He had a good car for a top finish but if KYLE had missed the win for any reason, STEWART would got
the checker flag before junior.Tony's car seemed quicker than DEJ.