The Track in Black
Does Junior need a crew chief? Rules are rules, and the troubled New England 300 from Loudon, New Hampshire.
Crew Chief Silly Season?
Well, yes, I have to say that there has always kind of been one, but crew chief job changes normally don't get as much attention as driver's job changes. The crew chief Silly Season goes on all year long, regardless if the season is in full swing, just getting started, or completely over with.
Two bad calls, two weeks in a row, for Dale Earnhardt Jr. by Crew chief Tony Eury Sr., is what got me to thinking about crew chief changes. Prodding Junior to try to beat out his teammate at the end of the Daytona race was one thing, although I think it was uncalled for, but making the ridiculous call to take on 4 tires with 25 laps remaining at Chigcagoland when they weren't needed is another. That was a stupid move, and it cost Junior any chance he has for a win or top five finish. UPDATE 7/24/02...... I've been corrected by more than one email that it was Tony Eury Jr. who made the call at Daytona, but that doesn't count, it's still the crew chief's responsibility. I've also been told that the set of tires that Junior had at Chicagoland wasn't any good and needed changing. Well, Junior didn't seem to think so after the race. When he left the pits he would have had better track position with a splash-and-go, and would have had the chance to get a better finish after his bad set of tires had gotten harder from being cooled down during the caution. Thanks for writing folks! I really appreciate people writing in and sharing their views, even though they may differ from mine.
The fact that Junior was said to be disgruntled after the Chicago race is an understatement. Anyone in a crew chief's position with a half a brain would have known better than that. A crew chief is supposed to be aware of where he is at. There are tracks on the Winston Cup circuit where taking on four tires with 25 laps to go is a must, but Chicagoland isn't one of them. All a crew chief has to do is his homework, watch the Busch Series races, remember from last year, and look at what the other teams are doing. It certainly doesn't take a rocket scientist to roll with the flow.
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