Eury Out!

McGrew named interim crew chief of No. 88 Sprint Cup team


CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2009) – Hendrick Motorsports today named Lance McGrew as interim crew chief of the No. 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. beginning with the June 7 event at Pocono Raceway. Team manager Brian Whitesell will lead the team this weekend at Dover, Del.

"Our performance hasn't been where it should be," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "It's impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point. We have a plan in place, and we're going to move forward with it."


Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick Motorsports' lead chassis engineer, have been assigned to support McGrew on a full-time basis. Whitesell, who won two of seven races as Jeff Gordon's interim crew chief in 1999, will join McGrew and team engineer Tom Stewart on the No. 88 pit box to assist with race strategy.


"We're going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races," Hendrick said. "It's going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers. Everyone in our company will be involved on some level."


Tony Eury Jr. will move from the crew chief position into a key role with Hendrick Motorsports' research and development group. Eury posted one victory, one pole position, 19 top-10 finishes and 11 top-fives in 48 races with the No. 88 team.


"I have mixed feelings, and that's just natural," Eury said. "But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be. I'll do whatever I can to help all of our teams and try to be a part of another championship. I think a new challenge will be good."


"Tony and I talked through this last night," Hendrick said. "I want him here, he wants to be here, and he's going to be a big contributor to our future success. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for the job he's done and for the caliber of person that he is."


McGrew, 41, earned the 2003 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers. He won the October 2006 Sprint Cup race with Vickers at Talladega, Ala., and most recently led Cup rookie Brad Keselowski to a seventh-place finish May 9 at Darlington, S.C.


As a crew chief, McGrew has posted victories in all three of NASCAR's major touring series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck. He has won races with drivers Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and most recently Tony Stewart Feb. 14 at Daytona Beach, Fla.


A native of Baton Rouge, La., McGrew has experience working with Earnhardt. Last season, the pair ran three Nationwide Series races, posting top-10 finishes April 5 at Texas Motor Speedway and May 24 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. They also finished 15th on March 8 at Atlanta.


http://hendrickmotorsports.com/news_detail.asp?id=2360
 
I won't expect a win or even a top 5 right out of the box but anything is better than his last finish.:)
 
Eury to get an R/D position.... why would you want a guy in R/D when he could not get results with the some of the best stuff out there? What the hell could he do for the Hendrick engineers in R/D other than picking up everbodys order for lunch? This is a polite way for the Hendrick group of telling him your done here unless you wanna go sell used cars at the dealership. The Earnhardt family ties mean nothing here and they only brought him in the fold as an alibi.
 
Maybe it isn't for him to do the R&D on his own but to work under Rex Stump and learn the right way.
 
Good, now it's put up or shut up time. Now on to lasik surgery for Junior so he can see his pits.

I predict a pole abd win at Daytona, home of the EARNHARDTS!!!
 
Good, now it's put up or shut up time. Now on to lasik surgery for Junior so he can see his pits.

I predict a pole abd win at Daytona, home of the EARNHARDTS!!!

Between a spotter up on the roof and somebody on the pit box and a pit sign that is personalized for your team (OTHER THAN BEING BLOCKED OUT) there is no excuse in missing your pit stall. If somebody is calling to the driver "3400 2nd gear" you would think they would be spotting the driver into the proper pit stall. Perhaps the driver is not listening. :idunno:
 
Eury Jr. should stick to something he's good at; donut sampler :D


hey, hey, hey, that's my job and I'm not ready to retire. My secondary occupation is sampling biscuits and gravy
08-51.gif
 
All right cancel the surgery, now to the hearing Doctor
 
When any driver comes in to pit and they have the team audio playing, you hear 5 4 3 2 1. That is the crew chief counting the driver down to his stall. There were times Junior was going down pit road and TEJ never did that. Toyota Waltrip pointed it out the last time he missed.
 
When any driver comes in to pit and they have the team audio playing, you hear 5 4 3 2 1. That is the crew chief counting the driver down to his stall. There were times Junior was going down pit road and TEJ never did that. Toyota Waltrip pointed it out the last time he missed.

Please don't post facts on this board! This board is for opinions only. :rolleyes: It will only confuse the Jr. haters more than they already are. :D
 
Back
Top Bottom