Family ties

Eurys helping Junior reach his on-track potential

Lost in all the yellow-line controversy surrounding Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s latest Talladega win were some interesting post-race observations from Himself and crew chief Tony Eury Sr.

Himself will tell you that he expected to win before the first weekend in April. He'd said as much during the offseason. Repeated it during Daytona's preseason tests, the annual January media tour and again during Speed Weeks -- I want a Winston Cup title.

And although clearly thrilled with Sunday's result, Earnhardt Jr. spoke afterward as if a record-setting fourth consecutive Talladega victory was exactly what it should be to a championship contender -- just another link in the chain.

"I don't know why this year is any different than another," he said, "but it's just time to be buckled down and it's time to look forward to the end of the year."

He says this with eight races under his belt. There's lots of work left between April 6 and the November finale, but the theme isn't a perceived impatience: Earnhardt Jr. appears to be considering his calendar as a whole rather than 36 fragments, a realization that eventually dawns on every driver.

Each NASCAR season is a timeline, its story told in point totals, not a weekly clock-punching. Whether drivers act on that realization depends on a combination of skill, maturity, experience and resources, yet some signs indicate this is a watershed statement for Earnhardt Jr. He heads to Martinsville in second place in the Cup point standings, just 129 behind leader Matt Kenseth.

Even more telling was his disgust at losing a race he could have won at Texas. He finished second behind winner Ryan Newman a week ago, and was not happy about it. Finishing 36th in the Daytona 500 -- after he'd dominated Speed Weeks -- also chapped him, though there was no remedy for a bad alternator.

His 33rd-place finish at Rockingham was a throwaway; just forget it and go on. A second at Las Vegas, a third at Atlanta and a sixth at Darlington hushed talk of a poor start. A 16th at Bristol might have been better had the No. 8 not run out of gas during a 129-lap green-flag run, but Earnhardt Jr. seems to be swallowing such things instead of carrying them into the next weekend; perhaps he's intent on finally justifying all that uninvited hype and public adulation.

"I know Tony and the guys would have liked to have done a few things different," he said. "They can see where I can't where we could have done something different for each race or maybe improved our position. But, as far as my effort, I feel pretty good about it. I feel real focused. I've got high demand out of my guys. I hope that they see that is just determination and my drive to win the championship.

He was supposed to be a contender last season, his third in Cup action and a year removed from his father's death. But streaky performances, communication issues between Earnhardt Jr., Eury Sr., car chief Tony Eury Jr., and mid-season effects from a self-diagnosed concussion (after a hard crash at California) marred everyone's effort.

All the highs and lows, the arguments, the thrashing around in the points and the thrashing out of duties, roles and responsibilities took its toll. Earnhardt Jr. finished 11th in the standings, not what anyone at Dale Earnhardt Inc. had in mind.

But maybe all that turmoil was necessary.

With the elder Earnhardt no longer around to provide a buck-stops-here background, the No. 8 team had to splinter, conceal, then reform during the offseason. Members were added and subtracted. The pit crew was rebuilt. The cumulative effect was that of megaphone blasting: Get serious, or get out.

"We've got some good guys that got some big hearts and they want to win," Eury Sr. said. "They want to work. They don't bitch about working. They work as hard as they can. They go when we tell them they can go home and that's what it takes to win a championship, and that's what we're trying to put together."

"I plan to be a big part of the team's success all year long by keeping things mellow and together when we're having bad days," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We can cuss and throw [stuff] when the season is over with when we didn't get the championship we wanted. Instead of doing it after each week, let's just keep our heads up and go on.

"That's been pretty good to us up until this point."

Post-race, he was Himself -- glib, expansive, occasionally mischievous. He listens to what he's asked. Usually avoids cliché crutches, although he utters "cool" a lot. On Sunday, he took Jimmie Johnson to task for driving tactics. Backed up NASCAR for backing up his own controversial skate below the Turn 3 apron boundary with two laps remaining. The move, which gave Earnhardt Jr. the lead, was daring and good theater. Its legality likely will be debated until November.

"I think it was pretty cool," he said.

That's also the telepathic state between Earnhardt Jr. and the Eurys. They're family, and when that relationship underlies the professional one, things can heat up as they sometimes did last season.

"Tony Sr. and Tony Jr. are working really, really good together," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I feel like this is the strongest they have ever been as a combination on top of the box. I feel like our relationship and our communication is just so much better and I feel like we were pretty damn good before, so we've got a good potential to win this year."

Denise N. Maloof covers NASCAR for SI.com.

 

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