BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. can handle the criticism. If you want to blame someone for his rather underwhelming first 40 races at Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR's most popular driver urges you to point the finger squarely at him. But attacking his crew chief? That's going a little too far.

Yet Earnhardt hears it, on a regular basis -- fans, reporters and opinion-makers all blaming crew chief Tony Eury Jr. for the struggles of the No. 88 team, which has won once since Earnhardt moved to Hendrick at the beginning of last year. His reaction is a shake of the head and more solid support for his cousin, who's been on the pit box in some capacity for all but one of the driver's 18 career Cup victories.

"I've said it 100 times, and it just doesn't seem to make a dent, but the guy that I feel bad for is Tony Jr., because he gets criticized so badly. And everyone in this [media] room, some of you have criticized him yourselves, know how smart a guy he is, truly know that he's a good mechanic and a solid crew chief. He just wanted to do this for a living, just like I do. I'll take the fall. I'd rather be crucified than him, because every time I read in the paper that people are on his case, I feel like people are sending my brother to jail for a crime I committed," Earnhardt said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"I feel bad for him, because he just wants to work and have fun and just wants to race. That's what everybody in the garage wants to do, they just want to race. But I understand that I need to run better, I understand y'alls point of view when y'all say, 'What gives? Where's the results?' I understand that, and I'm out there busting my butt trying to make it happen. And that's my goal until nobody will employ me in this sport. That's my goal, to make it happen. I just wish it was an easier job for him."

Right now, that job is far from easy. Although Earnhardt snapped a 76-race winless streak last year at Michigan and returned to the Chase in 2008 after a one-year absence, the breakthrough many expected when he moved to Hendrick has yet to occur. It's all been exacerbated by a slow start to this season, where a blown engine at California and pit-road mistakes at Daytona have relegated him to a 24th-place position in points. Even top-11 finishes in his last two races haven't stopped the wolves from howling. (Continued)