Notes: Juniors prepare for final race together at DEI

For the past 14 years, Tony Eury Jr.'s address in NASCAR racing has corresponded with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated's -- so if he staggers around a little bit next weekend, when he gets to Lowe's Motor Speedway as a Hendrick Motorsports employee, cut him some slack.

This weekend, as he prepares for his final race at DEI working with his cousin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway -- the reality of the next, and most radical step yet in his career is starting to sink in.

"It's pretty tough [because] I been here a long time," Eury said between practice sessions Friday. "I've got a lot to look forward to and I'm looking forward to getting over there [to Hendrick], but it's going to be tough leaving all my guys -- and friends -- here.

"But we can still be friends."

Eury began exploring the possibility of leaving the family team -- where he started his career working with his father, Tony "Pops" Eury, for the late team founder -- shortly after Earnhardt announced he would drive for Hendrick Motorsports next season. This is his last shot to win a race for DEI with his cousin, something they've done five times previously at Talladega.

For Earnhardt, who's not won in 55 races, or since he went to Victory Lane at Richmond in May 2006, this weekend is especially poignant, though he knows he'll pick back up with his cousin next season.

"This would be the best time for us to get another victory -- I so badly want to win one for my fans and sponsors and especially for my entire team," Earnhardt said. "It would be so great to get out of the car and give [Eury] a big hug after a win. That's what this is all about: making the people around you happy.

"I mean, that's the best is to see their smiles and how satisfying it is for them. The trophies and the money don't mean anything. OK -- scratch that -- those are pretty cool, too; so I take that back. But, those aren't the most important things.

"Tony Jr. could have left us much sooner, but he wanted to stick around long enough to make sure his guys had the cars prepared for the rest of the season and they would be in good shape with [current car chief] Tony Gibson taking over as crew chief for the rest of the year.

"We'll be fine, but it would mean a lot to get one last one with Tony Jr. in his Budweiser shirt on top of that pit box. Him leaving is good for his future and mine; but we want to go all-out for this race and all of the rest racing with as much integrity and as hard as we ever have."

Johnson still begrudges Biffle's win

Five days after Kansas race winner Greg Biffle crossed the finish line behind Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears on the apron, under caution, Johnson says he still doesn't know how Biffle ended up in Victory Lane -- even though NASCAR made it clear that in its interpretation Biffle was maintaining a "reasonable pace" and that he shouldn't have been passed by the other two drivers.

"No, I can't say I better understand the ruling and I haven't made an attempt to, either," Johnson said first thing Friday at Talladega. "That's something that I will definitely do and try to better understand what goes on in that situation -- what happens if you run out of gas on the backstretch and you don't make it back.

"Where is that cut-off point and where do you start losing positions is my question that I hope to have answered. But I still feel the same way. It's nothing against Greg or Roush Racing or any of those guys, but if you run out of gas you run out of gas and it was obvious that the car wasn't running and I think it was a bad call.

"But it's behind us. We're moving forward and looking forward to this weekend. But my impression of last weekend hasn't changed." (Continued)