Every NASCAR Sprint Cup racing fan in the world will be on "Junior Watch" this Sunday. That's because the race at the Talladega Super Speedway is the one location where Dale Earnhardt Jr has the opportunity to completely turn around what has been an extremely dismal 2009 season.
The performance levels we've all witnessed from Earnhardt and the #88 Hendrick Motorsports team so far in this still early 2009 season is no where close to what was expected. The loyal fans of the so called "Junior Nation" are completely puzzled. Earnhardt's sharpest critics are sharpening their knives and salivating. The rest of us are wondering if or when Rick Hendrick is going to step in and make some changes to the team.
Despite all of the media conjecture and Monday morning water cooler conversations by the fans the numbers, associated with this team after the first eight races, seem to speak for themselves:
In eight starts the team has no wins and hasn't won a race since last year. This is despite a good show in the Daytona Gatorade Duels last February during Speed Weeks.
The team has no top five finishes, only two top tens, no pole positions and has only led 70 laps in 2009.
They have an average start ratio of 23.5, an average finish ratio of 20.0 and they're currently ranked 19th in the Sprint Cup points standings.
These are not the numbers anyone was expecting from this driver and this team. These are not the numbers expected from NASCAR's most popular driver. They are not the numbers expected from a would be racing champion. They're certainly not the numbers expected from the son of a racing icon and a seven time NASCAR champion.
So, what's the problem here?
Many racing observers will be quick to point out that the team has experienced more than their fair share of bad racing luck. That's certainly true. Earnhardt getting hit by Casey Mears in the final moments of last Saturday's race in Phoenix is a perfect example. The late in the race incident ruined what had been a respectable showing for the team.
Racing observers will also say that the problem lies with the team's failure to make the right adjustments to the car during pit stops that was needed to close the deal at the end of the race. That, in turn, led to dialogue regarding pit road miscues such as lug nut issues among others. We certainly can't argue those issues either. There's simply too much video tape that supports the theories.
But the one element regarding this team that we're hearing about time and time again is the state of the relationship between the driver and the crew chief. Earnhardt and Tony Eury Jr are cousins who are actually more like best friends or extremely close brothers. Just like family and BFF's they sometimes get on each other's nerves. Unfortunately, in this case, these outbursts are being monitored by everyone from the national motorsports media to the Junior Nation fans who are all wearing scanners and hearing the disagreements live on the radio.
All of this has turned into one of the biggest off track NASCAR stories that we've seen in quite a few years. Making the situation worse is the fact that it has escalated into a national feeding frenzy that has many pointing the finger at Eury while suggesting that Junior needs a new crew chief and he needs one right now.
At a time when driver and crew chief need to be focused on improving performance levels so they can make the Chase For The Championship, they are finding themselves in a position of having to deal with the distraction of discussing literally everything that has gone wrong over the last year. At this point in time you can't go more than a day without hearing or reading about this story. Earnhardt repeatedly finds himself in position of having to defend his crew chief and Eury is constantly having to defend his team.
Needless to say team owner Rick Hendrick has been monitoring all of this very closely and there has been reported meetings with the #88 team to determine what could be done to get Earnhardt and company back to their expected championship form.
The feeding frenzy on this story has now hit epidemic proportions following an alleged leak from someone, reported to be high on the chain at Hendrick Motorsports, that said major changes were coming in a matter of days and those changes involved an official separation between Earnhardt and Eury. In all fairness it needs to be pointed out that this alleged high ranking Hendrick officially reportedly spoke on the condition that he remains anonymous.
The report, published on literally anything that you can name, stated that there was a meeting between Hendrick, Earnhardt, Eury, Mark Martin and his crew chief Alan Gustafson that occurred during the NASCAR annual Easter break. The plan calls for Gustafson to move to the #88 team while Eury will take over the pit box for Martin's #5 team. The report also stated that the respective drivers and crew chiefs were on board with the plan and reportedly said that if Hendrick felt the change was needed then they would do the their best to make it work for the betterment of the organization. This re organization was reportedly supposed to be announced following last weekend's race at Phoenix.
But an unexpected event occurred last April 18th. Mark Martin won the Phoenix race in such a dominant fashion that he literally spanked anyone who tried to race with him. This badly needed win was the result of great driving by Martin, great calls by Gustafson and great service from the pit crew.
At the beginning of the season Martin's team was also struggling. But this primarily due to harsh racing luck such as blown engines and a crash at Atlanta which came from the direct result of a blown tire. The team was sliding backwards in the points and that prompted the consideration for the crew chief swap.
Then came the outstanding team performance at Phoenix which elevated Martin to 13th in the points and knocking on the door to get into the top 12 that determines the line up the Chase For The Championship. It also raised the question: who in their right mind would do anything to break this team up?
Additional reports published this week now say that Hendrick has decided to give the two teams some additional time before any changes are implemented. If it's decided that changes are in order then the formal announcement is expected to be made at NASCAR's annual All Star Weekend set for the weekend of May 16th.
The potential scenario appears to have the following order and time line:
If Martin's #5 team continues to flourish from the momentum of Phoenix then his team will be left intact.
If the #5 can't capitalize on that momentum and the #88 team continues to stumble then the proposed crew chief will likely be implemented next month.
If the #5 team does flourish and the #88 team's performance doesn't improve then plan B will be implemented. Plan B calls for Eury to be replaced by Ron Malec, the car chief from Jimmie Johnson's #48 team, or possibly Jason Burdett, the car chief from Jeff Gordon's #24 team.
It's believed that Tony Eury Jr will be retained by Hendrick Motorsports in another official capacity.
Bear in mind that all of the above is being adamantly denied by Hendrick Motorsports.
This May 16th deadline gives Earnhardt and Eury approximately three weeks to solve the team's problems in their own way. They are acutely aware that time is ticking away regarding the Chase For The Championship. While that 12 man Chase line up won't be determined until mid September, the process of elevating themselves from 19th to at least 12th in the points has to begin right now.
There's an excellent chance that the rejuvenation process could begin this Sunday at the Talladega Super Speedway. Earnhardt has an outstanding record at this track that includes five wins with four of them being in consecutive order. He's learned his lessons well from his famous father regarding restrictor plate events and is now regarded as one of the best in the business for this genre of racing. Earnhardt is reportedly chomping at the bit to get to Talladega. Eury recently admitted that he's had Sunday's race date highlighted on his calendar for a long time now.
When the green flag falls on the Aaron's 499 this Sunday at Talladega we will all be on "Junior Watch." Hopefully there will be some good news to report next week.
