August 18, 2008
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
|
The conspiracy theorists are out in force. Citing recent races where decisions by Tony Eury Jr., have led to poor finishes for Dale Earnhardt Jr., many of them are calling for Eury, to be fired as Earnhardt’s crew chief.
However, making split-second decisions as a NASCAR crew chief can be like rolling the dice, you win some and you lose some. Earnhardt’s only points paying victory this season came on a fuel strategy gamble that paid off at Michigan, courtesy of Eury himself.
The 88 Chevrolet ran well early at Watkins Glen and was leading the race at the time of Eury’s call to stay out on the track, while all of the other leaders pitted under green.
As luck would have it, a caution came out and bunched the field together. Earnhardt was forced to pit under yellow and fell to the rear of the field, finishing 22nd when he could possibly have won the race or at least posted a top-five.
Still, Eury was willing to take the blame after the poor finish at Watkins Glen, as he stated in a Terry Blunt article for ESPN.com.
"I made a mistake. Had the caution not come out, we would have been sitting pretty. But it ended up being the wrong decision."
However, Earnhart seemed confused after the race, according to an article written by James Johnson for the Rochester Democrat and Chronical.
"I ain't real sure what our strategy was. Out there in the racecar, you don't talk about strategy. I know we had a plan, it just didn't work out for us," Earnhardt said.
Could it be that Earnhardt is just covering for his cousin and crew chief, Eury?
Yet, combine that decision with the finish at Pocono. Earnhardt, running third coming out of the final turn ran out of gas, turning what should have been a top-five into a twelfth place finish.
Regardless, people only remember the most recent result and have forgotten that it was Eury who left DEI early last season to take his position at Hendrick Motorsports early, leading to Earnhardt’s success at Daytona in which he won the Budwiser Shootout.
If not for Eury, the 88 team would not be in the points position they are currently. Having fallen two spots in the standings from second to fourth is hardly reason to panic, but many now believe that Earnhardt’s chances for his first Cup Championship are over and done with.
Earnhardt will have as much of a chance to win the title as any other driver in the top 12 after the points are reset when the Chase begins. The only driver with a clear-cut advantage will be Kyle Busch, with his series leading eight race victories and 80 bonus points as a result.
Busch has had a few poor race results recently, proving that no one is immune to the wiles of Lady Luck. Combine just a few poor finishes by Busch with a win or two from Earnhardt during the chase, and the 88 could be this year’s champion.
The legions of Earnhardt fans are furious with Eury, but could any of them do any better? Eury’s position as crew chief for NASCAR’s most popular driver makes his job one of the most scrutinized in all of NASCAR, not to mention professional sports in general and certainly no position to envy.
Fans should relax and stop jumping up and down pounding their television sets. Earnhardt will make the Chase this season and have a legitimate shot at winning the Championship, unless of course Eury Jr., strikes again.
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Matthew Pizzolato at ..
