CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a new crew chief starting with this weekend's race at Dover because of a slump that has dragged deep into the season.
Tony Eury Jr. was removed as crew chief of Earnhardt's No. 88 team Thursday. The two are cousins and have worked together during Earnhardt's entire career.
They left Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. But despite driving for NASCAR's top team they have one win in 48 races with Hendrick and are 19th in points. They hit rock bottom with Monday's 40th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Team manager Brian Whitesell will be the crew chief this weekend. Lance McGrew will take over next week on an interim basis as team owner Rick Hendrick decides on a long-term plan for NASCAR's most popular driver.
After Monday's rain-shortened race, Hendrick's commitment to the pair had clearly waned. Following months of steadfast support, he was noncommittal about Eury's future with Earnhardt.
Earnhardt and Eury spent Tuesday and Wednesday testing on the road course at Virginia International Raceway. Hendrick told them he was splitting the pair upon their return.
Whatever route Hendrick takes, he's giving Earnhardt the full-time use of Whitesell and Rex Stump, the lead chassis engineer.
Earnhardt has just three top-10 finishes this season and six finishes of 27th or worse. He's getting dangerously close to getting too far behind to rally for a spot in the Chase.
That's unacceptable for a driver who went to Hendrick to win the Cup title that has eluded him his entire career. His father, the late Dale Earnhardt, was a seven-time Cup champion before his death in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
Despite their shortcomings -- two wins in the past 120 races -- Earnhardt remained fiercely loyal to Eury and was pained when his rabid fans blamed the crew chief for their failures.
"The guy that I feel bad for is Tony Jr. He gets criticized so badly," Earnhardt said in one of his early season defences of Eury. "Everybody in this room, and some of you have criticized him, know how smart a guy he is and that he's a good mechanic and a solid crew chief. He just wants to do this for a living, just like I do. I'll take the fall. ... 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."
Hendrick said shortly after that he was "100 per cent" behind the pairing.
"Both Junior and Tony have told me that if they thought they needed to be split, that they understood," Hendrick said. "That's my call, and I'm not ready to make that call. Not even close. I am convinced that they're better together. We've got the right combination, and I think we're going to be able to prove that to you guys soon."
Tony Eury Jr. was removed as crew chief of Earnhardt's No. 88 team Thursday. The two are cousins and have worked together during Earnhardt's entire career.
They left Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. But despite driving for NASCAR's top team they have one win in 48 races with Hendrick and are 19th in points. They hit rock bottom with Monday's 40th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Team manager Brian Whitesell will be the crew chief this weekend. Lance McGrew will take over next week on an interim basis as team owner Rick Hendrick decides on a long-term plan for NASCAR's most popular driver.
After Monday's rain-shortened race, Hendrick's commitment to the pair had clearly waned. Following months of steadfast support, he was noncommittal about Eury's future with Earnhardt.
Earnhardt and Eury spent Tuesday and Wednesday testing on the road course at Virginia International Raceway. Hendrick told them he was splitting the pair upon their return.
Whatever route Hendrick takes, he's giving Earnhardt the full-time use of Whitesell and Rex Stump, the lead chassis engineer.
Earnhardt has just three top-10 finishes this season and six finishes of 27th or worse. He's getting dangerously close to getting too far behind to rally for a spot in the Chase.
That's unacceptable for a driver who went to Hendrick to win the Cup title that has eluded him his entire career. His father, the late Dale Earnhardt, was a seven-time Cup champion before his death in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
Despite their shortcomings -- two wins in the past 120 races -- Earnhardt remained fiercely loyal to Eury and was pained when his rabid fans blamed the crew chief for their failures.
"The guy that I feel bad for is Tony Jr. He gets criticized so badly," Earnhardt said in one of his early season defences of Eury. "Everybody in this room, and some of you have criticized him, know how smart a guy he is and that he's a good mechanic and a solid crew chief. He just wants to do this for a living, just like I do. I'll take the fall. ... 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."
Hendrick said shortly after that he was "100 per cent" behind the pairing.
"Both Junior and Tony have told me that if they thought they needed to be split, that they understood," Hendrick said. "That's my call, and I'm not ready to make that call. Not even close. I am convinced that they're better together. We've got the right combination, and I think we're going to be able to prove that to you guys soon."
