Dale Earnhardt Jr. plans on having a lot more smiles during the 2006 season. Credit: Autostock

Changes could pay off for Earnhardt Jr. in '06

Bringing back Eury Jr. as crew chief a huge step in reviving success

Maybe it was last year at Richmond. Or maybe it was at Dover.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't remember when he and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. talked out their differences. But that meeting was the start of an uphill climb to get DEI's flagship driver back to form for 2006.

	Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2005 Wins 1 Top-5s 7 Top-10s 13 DNFs 6 Poles 0 Laps Led 169 Avg. Start 24.9 Avg. Finish 20.5 Earnings $5,581,654 A new seasonDale Jr. is excited to put 2005 behind him Older and wiserDale Jr. says last year's struggles will make him better Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I asked him point-blank if he wanted to work with me ever again in the future," Earnhardt said of the conversation last fall with his cousin, who at the time was working with DEI's No. 15 team. "And he said, 'Yep.'

"We basically confessed our intentions as far as I wanted to work with him and he wanted to work with me. That was sort of the defining moment if there was one."

The two hadn't directly worked together since they parted ways following the 2004 season finale at Homestead, where they hardly spoke the entire weekend. DEI then switched crews of the No. 8 and the No. 15 to improve team chemistry.

At the time, a change was inevitable, Earnhardt said, despite all the questions that followed.

"It was about me and my cousin not getting along," he said. "I didn't want to get to the point to where I couldn't stand my cousin anymore. The company wasn't gaining anything by the situation as it imploded, so we needed to make a change."

The separation was good, but it didn't bode well for on-track results, and following the meeting, Eury was back atop the No. 8 pit box as crew chief for last season's final 10 races -- a season that saw Earnhardt struggle from start to finish. Five times Earnhardt ended races early due to wrecks, and after the Daytona 500, he never climbed above ninth in the points. He finished a career-worst 19th in the standings with just one win and led fewer laps last year (169) than any other year since he's raced full time in the Nextel Cup Series.

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During the offseason, Earnhardt evaluated his drive and confidence behind the wheel.

"I have good confidence in myself, but I don't know if I have realized my potential, personally," he said. "I don't know if I've realized exactly how capable of driving a racecar I am."

With the duo back together for a full season, however, Earnhardt is looking to rekindle the magic he had two years ago, when he cruised to six victories and won the Daytona 500. Whether he'll reach his potential just by having Eury back in his corner again is still to be determined, but Earnhardt says their communication is on the right track.

"It feels good working with Tony Jr.," Earnhardt said at Preseason Thunder in Daytona, where he posted the eighth-fastest speed in the first group of testing. "It feels good to go into the shop and talk to him about the cars and know when he is talking about his cars, he is talking about my cars, too."

Earnhardt also met with his team and expressed his ideas of where the group is headed for the future, including his expectations for the upcoming season.

Much of the focus was to get started on a positive note. Although early-season races at California and Las Vegas haven't traditionally been strong for Earnhardt -- he finished 32nd and 42nd there last year -- he's still looking at the big picture.

"We've got everybody pretty much on board, and we're focused and looking forward to next season," Earnhardt said. "I think we'll be strong and be able to compliment each other now. We've worked hard and improved.

"This is where we start to climb back up the hill."