Tony Eury Jr. admits he questioned his talent in 2004, but a split between him and Dale Earnhardt Jr. changed that. Credit: Autostock

Taking a chance let Eury Jr. realize full potential

Questioning his own ability has made him a better crew chief

DOVER, Del. -- Tony Eury Jr. was in the sixth week of a freshman psychology class at DeVry University in Atlanta when the professor began explaining how people should pursue their dreams.

The No. 8 team has fared well since Tony Eury Jr. returned to the garage. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Comparing Dale Earnhardt Jr. from '05 to '06 Race 2005 2006 Daytona 3 8 California 32 11 Las Vegas 42 27 Atlanta 24 3 Bristol 4 11 Martinsville 13 4 Texas 9 12 Phoenix 4 33 Talladega 15 31 Richmond 8 1 Darlington 14 5 Charlotte 33 11 Dover 22 10 Pocono 33 14 Points 17 6 Older and wiserDale Jr. says the struggles last year will make him better in '06 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

So he left.

And not just the class.

Eury Jr. returned to his Mooresville, N.C., home and went to work with his father, Tony Eury Sr., at Dale Earnhardt Inc. He started at the bottom, sweeping floors, washing cars and hanging barbed wire, whatever it took to be around the business.

He eventually teamed with his father to help Dale Earnhardt Jr. win consecutive Busch Series championships in 1998 and 1999. They moved to the Nextel Cup Series in 2000, Eury Sr. as the crew chief and Eury Jr. as the car chief.

Life was grand.

Until late in 2004.

That's when Eury Jr. found himself struggling with the same thoughts he had at DeVry, wondering if this really was something he wanted to do. Having taken over the duties of the crew chief, he constantly was at odds with Earnhardt and questioned whether his first cousin would be better off with somebody else.

So he left, this time going a few doors down to then-DEI driver Michael Waltrip. Unlike the psychology class, it wasn't a permanent move.

Eury Jr. reunited with Earnhardt for the final 10 races of 2005 and the two have been together ever since. Fourteen races into this season Earnhardt is sixth in points with a victory at Richmond and an average finish of 12.2, eight spots higher than this time in 2005.

Eury Jr. believes his psychology professor would be proud.

"I knew what I wanted to do way back then and that guy kind of explained it to me," he said. "When I left that college I said this is what I'm going to do. I came back and did it.

"If I was gone tomorrow I'd be really happy with the direction I've chosen."

Tumultuous times

Eury Jr. and Earnhardt recently sat on the pit wall at Dover International Speedway, laughing and joking 15 minutes before the green flag fell.

It wasn't always like this.

	No matter where Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes, he draws a crowd. Credit: Autostock
	DALE EARNHARDT JR. •   Driver Page •   DEI Team Page •   2006 Statistics •   Video Highlights A new seasonDale Jr. is excited about putting 2005 behind him Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

There have been times when Eury Jr. could have used a psychologist to help him deal with the "rock star" atmosphere that surrounds the son of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.

He definitely could have used one to help him deal with tumultuous relationship they had in 2004 when Earnhardt finished fifth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Eury Jr. compares it to a marriage where the spouses need time apart to realize how much they mean to each other.

"I wouldn't trade last year for the world," Eury Jr. said. "Just to get away from the rock star atmosphere and to chill out for both of us was pretty humbling.

"It was just fun racing for me. I never drank no Pepto Bismol or nothing. I just enjoyed myself and had a good time."

He also ended any doubt, from himself and those outside the organization, that he'd been holding back Earnhardt.

"I had a couple of peers in here that said, 'All right Eury. It's about time you get off that [Earnhardt] gravy train,'" Eury Jr. said. "But when we run as good as we did with Michael it opened up a lot of eyes."

The team was particularly strong this time a year ago, finishing fifth at Pocono and seventh the next week at Michigan to move to 14th in points.

Earnhardt, meanwhile, was 17th after Michigan, already having replaced crew chief Pete Rondeau with Steve Hmiel. He was marred in a streak of five consecutive finishes outside the top 10 that a week later would reach six in a season where he would finish 19th.

"I wanted to work with Tony Jr. again, but we were both just being hard headed about it," Earnhardt said.

Eury Jr. wasn't even at the top of the list when Earnhardt first began considering crew chief options.

"We talked to other crew chiefs about hiring other crew chiefs," Earnhardt said. "We talked to other guys. One of them is really successful right now. A lot of what-ifs."

But there were no what-ifs about how much Eury Jr. needed the time away from Earnhardt.

"It also showed that we did know what we were doing on our racecars," Eury Sr. said. "As soon as Michael knew he wasn't coming back, his mind wasn't with his game. That's why they went downhill at the end of the season.

"Until that day we told Michael he wasn't racing there anymore, that was a good race team."

Leaving DEI?

Not far away from the familiar red Budweiser hauler was Dale Jarrett's No. 88 hauler of Robert Yates Racing.

Tony Eury Jr. helped lead Michael Waltrip to seven top-10s in the first half of 2005, but Waltrip only had two top-20s after the crew chief left. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Michael Waltrip's results with Tony Eury Jr. as crew chief Race Start Finish Daytona 3 37 California 30 38 Las Vegas 36 21 Atlanta 37 7 Bristol 27 19 Martinsville 31 30 Texas 21 6 Phoenix 28 2 Talladega 38 3 Darlington 19 34 Richmond 23 9 Charlotte 23 36 Dover 18 13 Pocono 1 5 Michigan 30 7 Sonoma 34 22 Daytona 17 40 Chicago 27 36 Loudon 28 17 Pocono 24 26 Indianapolis 3 16 Watkins Glen 19 41 Michigan 24 27 Bristol 22 15 Fontana 19 13 Richmond 28 31 Note: Tony Eury Jr. spent the last 10 races of 2005 as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief. Free VideoA day's worth of news in 90 seconds

That was one of several organizations impressed enough with the way Eury Jr. turned Waltrip's team around to approach him about leaving DEI.

"Yeah, I did entertain that," Eury Jr. said. "I talked to Teresa [Earnhardt] about it."

But Eury Jr. stayed, in part because he wasn't convinced RYR was strong enough to compete for the championship and in part because he wanted another chance with Earnhardt.

"When they offered me the deal with Dale Jr. I realized I needed to give it one more shot to see if we can get a title with this kid," he said.

He returned with a newfound confidence.

"Everybody recognized what the Eury family did in racing because of the Earnhardt name," Eury Sr. said. "They said you'll never be recognized for yourself because the Earnhardt name covers you up. He kind of proved them wrong."

Eury Jr. feels a respect level in the garage now that he never experienced in 2004, when Earnhardt had a chance to win the title until the final race.

"I kind of questioned myself a lot about my abilities before we had the year with Michael about how good of a crew chief I was," Eury Jr. said. "You start to say, 'OK, how good is Junior? If he was with a Chad Knaus, how many races would he win? Or a Greg Zipadelli?'

"Last year was a big confidence builder in me and let me see I'm just as good as anybody in this garage."

Common sense

Eury Jr. never returned for the mechanical engineering degree he wanted when he enrolled at DeVry.

At times it makes him feel inferior to a lot of the new-wave crew chiefs whose office walls are covered in diplomas.

But Eury Jr. wouldn't trade the on-the-job training he got as a teenager working at Hendrick Motorsports beside his granddaddy, Robert Gee, and longtime crew chief Jake Elder.

Or his experiences with the elder Earnhardt before his death in 2001.

"I was probably the aggravator of all the guys that were working," Eury Jr. recalled. "But they all taught me something, how to weld or clean headers. I did whatever I could do to be around racecars."

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. says common sense is what makes his crew chief so successful. Credit: Autostock
	Work to doDale Jr. believes he has yet to reach his driving potential Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Earnhardt says Eury Jr. has something many crew chiefs that come into the sport out of college don't.

"That's common sense," he said. "Sometimes all engineering really comes down to is having common sense, figuring something out. He does a great job with staying on top of what's happening in the garage and the latest technology."

Common sense told Eury Jr. that he needed time away Earnhardt in 2005. Common sense told him things couldn't go back the way they were when he returned and that communication was key.

"That's the one thing we talked about when we got back together," Eury Jr. said. "We used to not tell each other how we felt all the time. Like I wouldn't walk up and say, 'Junior, you did a great job.'

"Or he wouldn't say, 'That was a great pit call.' We didn't tell each other that, and as a human being you like to hear that stuff to make sure you are doing a good job."

Common sense also tells Eury Jr. what he has with Earnhardt now is working, just as it told him it was right to leave DeVry and pursue his dream.

"The guy was talking about how you go through life, and if you really want to be something then you should go for it," Eury Jr. said. "Hell, when I left out of that class I knew what I wanted to do."