Earnhardt, Eury in opposite corners
JOLIET, Ill. -- Junior versus Junior. Colliding cousins. Get your ringside seat. It's on.
In this corner, coming in with a fightin', fit and ready attitude in the GoDaddy.com shirt is the jilted crew chief, the scapegoat for all things wrong this season with NASCAR's prince of popularity.
In the other corner is his royal highness, the troubled superstar of racing, the tragic hero hoping to make things good again.
Let's get ready to rumble!
OK, we kid, but this is fun stuff. Tony Eury Jr. is back at the track and will compete against Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway.
Eury will be on the pit box this weekend for rising star Brad Keselowski, who has one more victory (one to zero) this season than Earnhardt. Keselowski will drive the No. 25 Chevrolet, a fifth car for Hendrick Motorsports, after qualifying 29th Thursday. Earnhardt qualified 13th.
Fans will be watching to see which man comes out on top Saturday, something Eury understands. But he's not buying into it.
"I'm not here to outrun Dale Jr.," Eury said Thursday. "I'm here to help Brad, get him more seat time and help him do well."
For Eury, it's a new world. No expectations, no pressure. All those worries now fall to Lance McGrew, who replaced Eury as Earnhardt's crew chief last month.
"It had just run its course," Eury said of his long partnership with Earnhardt. "It was time to try something different. We both tried so hard. I did everything I could to make Dale Jr. successful. It just wasn't enough. I'm satisfied with everything I did."
Now Eury is free from the constant scrutiny that goes with the territory when working with Earnhardt. Saturday night could be the most relaxed he's been during a race in a long time.
"I'm glad to be in a position to have a little fun," Eury said. "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"I think it's kind of a change of pace, and it's kind of a challenge to me. You know, those young guys [like Keselowski], they're eager. I think we'll complement each other well. I've watched Brad the last couple of years, and I look forward to working with him."
This is a pairing that begs comparison. Keselowski is in Hendrick equipment, having his car prepared and getting his instructions from those who have taken the fall for Earnhardt's troubles this season.
So what if Keselowski wins the race? The Earnhardt haters will have their "I told you so" moment, claiming the wrong man was blamed for Earnhardt's 2009 woes.
Even if Keselowski doesn't win but finishes ahead of Earnhardt on Saturday night, Eury will gain some redemption from the fans.
One race is just one race. It proves little in the grand scheme of things, but a good night for Keselowski coupled with a bad one for Earnhardt would elevate Eury's status and bring even more questions about Earnhardt's slump.
"If we win, I'll let people think whatever they want," Eury said.
It wasn't a shock to Eury when the change came with the No. 88 team, but he said it was a difficult adjustment for him and Earnhardt.
"We just let things ease up a little bit," Eury said. "It was emotional for both of us. I had mixed emotions. In one way I was glad it was over. But in another way I felt like I had let my cousin down."
“I am not going to let this sport come between me and Dale Jr. He's family, and our relationship goes far beyond racing.
” -- Tony Eury Jr.
One year ago at this event, Earnhardt was second in the Cup standings. Things were going well for Eury and Junior during their first season at Hendrick.
But this season started with a crash at Daytona and continued to go downhill from there.
"The problems just got deeper and deeper," Eury said. "It was like throwing a squirrel down a hole. You start digging the other way."
Eury said the situation was much harder on Earnhardt than it was on him.
"My personal opinion is he just had had enough," Eury said of Earnhardt. "He took so much criticism from the media after the Daytona 500, then we had a mechanical failure the next week at California, and the negative comments kept building. It really brought him down."
Eury said he also was down when Rick Hendrick made the move to change crew chiefs, but he believes the transition was good for him.
"I spent a lot of time just chillin' and a lot of time with my wife," Eury said. "We haven't done that in a long time. The first two or three weeks I didn't even watch a race. I really enjoyed it, to be honest. Now it's good to be back."
He thinks all Earnhardt needs is to feel good again about his job.
"I think he's happier, but people just need to let him do his thing," Eury said. "He needs to have fun at the track again, and I think it's coming. He's a lot more open with Lance."
Earnhardt confirmed that openness in an interview Thursday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Lance came in and was kind of easy to talk to," Earnhardt said. "He was just real easygoing, and he's confident. In all the races that I've worked with him up to this point, he has made my car better during the race with adjustments. And he makes good calls during practice to make the car better.
"In no way would I categorize my attitude as satisfied, but it seems like that we're going in the right direction and we're making gains."
Eury feels he has good communication lines with Keselowski. The two will work together at three other Cup events this season.
"I've had a chance to talk with [Eury] some over the past few weeks," Keselowski said. "I think we will definitely be on the same page communication-wise. He brings a lot of experience to the table."
It's a bit of an odd situation for Keselowski, who drives for Earnhardt's JR Motorsports team in the Nationwide Series. And Keselowski's crew chief is Tony Eury Sr., the man who guided Earnhardt to 16 of his 18 Cup victories.
Eury Jr. has talked to his dad about Keselowski's tendencies.
"We've talked to just understand what kind of changes he's making to the [Nationwide] cars," Eury Jr. said. "But I've had a lot more conversations with Brad than anybody.
"Brad has been really good about giving me his pluses and minuses on what he thinks about himself, and I've given them to him from my perspective. We understand each other."
A clear change from what he experienced with Earnhardt. The two men had a volatile relationship at times.
"You guys complained if we screamed at each other," Eury said. "So we quit doing that, then you said we stopped talking to each other."
If things go well with Keselowski, expect to hear talk of a permanent pairing with Eury Jr.
Keselowski could be in line to drive a third car at Stewart-Haas Racing next year, or he could stay with JR Motorsports if Earnhardt finds the funding to move his Nationwide team up to Cup.
For now, fans will watch closely Saturday night to see how Eury fares against his cousin.
"I am not going to let this sport come between me and Dale Jr.," Eury said. "He's family, and our relationship goes far beyond racing."
Terry Blount covers motorsports for ESPN.com. His book, "The Blount Report: NASCAR's Most Overrated and Underrated Drivers, Cars, Teams, and Tracks," was published by Triumph Books and is available in bookstores. Click here to order a copy. Blount can be reached at terry@blountspeak.com.
