Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. were a match made in heaven. While the racer’s innate talent and competitive spirit were responsible for his success on the track, his achievements would not have been possible without his trusty crew chief. Tony Eury Jr. had built quite a reputation for himself as somewhat of a ‘rebel’, pushing the boundaries of NASCAR’s rulebook to give his driver a competitive advantage. While it paid off most of the time, it also resulted in some very close calls.
Speaking to Tony Gibson, Dale Jr. took a trip down memory lane, recalling his crew chief’s bizarre antics. He recalled the time they got into hot water at Darlington, unsurprisingly because of Tony Jr’s ‘idea’.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls his crew chief’s ingenious tactic
Tony Jr. has been there and done that. Having spent over a decade at Dale Earnhardt Inc., the North Carolina native worked his way from the bottom, operating as a tire changer and car chief to becoming one of the most successful crew chiefs in NASCAR. When the sport introduced the Car of Tomorrow (COT), he was able to maximize the performance of the vehicle to give Dale Earnhardt Jr. the best chance for victory. However, the introduction of COT also led to new rules and regulations, a situation that Tony Jr. took advantage of by finding loopholes to bend the rulebook in his team’s favor.
Recalling what is arguably the most famous rule-bending incident, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast, ‘The Dale Jr. Download, “We got busted because we went to Darlington and we had that COT had just come out and Tony Jr. had figured out something.” Chiming in, Tony Gibson, who was another member of Junior’s team said, “We made wing mounts. We found out that the distance between the wing and the deck lid was where the downforce came from. The only way to really tell is if you measured between the deck lid and the wing.” A small change that made a huge difference in increasing the downforce and grip of the COT. However, NASCAR officials were as bright-eyed as Tony Jr. and spotted it in the nick of time.
Tony Gibson went on to say that while they passed technical inspection, they were called back when going up the hill. The race officials finally discovered the modification and ordered the team to, “Take those wing mounts off, take the wings off.” A 2007 report by the Columbus Dispatch recalls that Dale Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. were in big heat for modifications to the COT. However, in this case, it was for modifications to the right fender. Dale Jr. was docked 100 points and Eury Jr was fined 100,00$ and suspended for six races!
November 17, 2017 – Homestead, Florida, United States of America – November 17, 2017 – Homestead, Florida, USA: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) hangs out n the garage prior to practice for Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. NASCAR Motorsport USA 2017: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 500 November 17 – ZUMAa161 20171117_zaa_a161_019 Copyright: xJustinxR.xNoexAspxIncx
Tony Eury Jr. was known for finding sneaky ways of modifying the No. 8 Chevy to maximize the vehicle’s performance and always had contingency plans in place if found guilty. Recalling how Tony Jr. approached such instances, Tony Gibson was once told, “You always got to have a way to talk your way out of something.” It may not have worked every single time, but the crew chief pushed the limits whenever he could.
Moments like these are what Tony Jr. will always be remembered for. In a sport defined by fine margins such as NASCAR, drivers and teams need to take every little advantage they can get their hands on. That’s exactly what the crew chief did. Were his strategies questionable? Absolutely. But in his eyes, bending the rules was just another tactic of getting one step closer to victory. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters, doesn’t it?
The time when Tony Jr. made changes to the car’s aerodynamic setup
Let’s just say that Tony Jr. had a knack for manipulating the rules. There’s a fine line between ‘cheating’ and finding loopholes in the existing rulebook, and it’s fair to say that the crew chief did toe the line occasionally. One of those instances might be when he made small but very effective changes to the No. 8 Chevy’s aerodynamic setup, at a time when NASCAR had mandated the use of roof cameras. The bulky equipment added to the overall weight and affected the car’s performance, but Tony Jr. found a way to minimize that impact.
Recalling his crew chief’s strategy, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said, “I remember when they started making everybody run these, if you had a roof camera or not, you had to run that little peel on top. Yeah it’s a big old dome and Tony Jr. would, you we always had them Bud decals, and Tony Junior would get the thickest bud decals. He would get and then stack them and I mean it was literally like maybe an eighth of an inch or 316th of an inch and it just a little bit disrupted the wind, disrupting the wind in front of that cone on the roof.”
By stacking the thick decals, Tony Jr. disrupted the airflow which ultimately reduced the drag caused by the camera. The minor but significant detail gave his team a significant advantage, helping Dale Earnhardt Jr. become more competitive on the track. It was all about finding creative solutions for the crew chief, whose rule-bending tactics have become a part of his overall legacy. While some may call it cheating, others would describe it as finding ways to gain an edge, even if it might not be strictly, ‘moral’.
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