Is DALE JR. firing.........?

Question

TONY JR. i heard tony stewart mention it on sirius, does anyone else know anything on this matter? and why would he fire his cousin? thought blood was thicker than water?

guess dale jr. does not think so

Answer 1

The last time a change was made to Jr's crew chief, he went from not too bad to awful, so I would be hesitant to change that team at the moment. They may be having issues, as they do frequently because they are like brothers and they butt heads a lot. I don't think Hendrick is going to make that change just yet. Jr is doing the best of all HMS drivers and 3rd in points is nothing to be sad about.

Answer 2

I don't think Junior can fire Tony, Jr.  They both work for Rick Hendrick, so he'd be the guy doing the firing.  I haven't heard anything about Tony getting the boot.

Answer 3

I haven't heard anything, but, for some reason, I wouldn't be surprised.  I don't think Dale Jr. is happy with Tony Jr. Dale Jr. is doing well.  He's been very consistent, and is sitting third in points. But something just isn't right there.  He hasn't looked happy or confident in an interview in a long time, and when they ask him what kind of car he has for the weekend, he's usually noncommittal about it.  I'm in no place to question Tony Jr.'s decisions, and they've been discussed before.  I do know that Jr. gets very, very upset when Tony Jr. does something to the car and doesn't tell Dale.  However, Tony Jr. still does it. I don't think that sits well with Dale Jr. at all.  They don't seem to have that connection that good driver/crew chief pairings have.  There seems to be a lot more negativity there. I know Waltrip used to cuss Hammond out a lot, but I guess it worked for them. I just get the impression it's not all good between them.  The cars are good, the driver is focused, but it seems like the CC can't make the car better or keep up with track changes, all while keeping the driver. in the dark about the changes. Then again, what do I know about crew chiefing? But, yeah, I do think there is something to the rumor.

Also, Jr. has mentioned that one thing he needs to work on is learning how to run a business as a business without this emotions playing into it too much. This would be in large part a business decision.  I think Rick would make the final decision, but he would listen to what Dale Jr. had to say.

P.S. Sorry about my long-winded answers.

Answer 4

Tony Eury Jr. is catching a lot of heat for questionable judgement calls. Like the last pit stop in the AllStar race. Many sports analysts and fans believe he should have done gas+2 tires. That was the only way Jr. stood a chance to win. I am a big Jr. fan and in talking to my people we all agree that Eury could be the one piece left that is costing Jr. wins. Too many bad calls. As for being family, I understand the importance. But racing is a business. Family and freindship should not be a factor in a decision to help a driver win. Harsh but true. Reality bites. No official announcement has been made but remember, Jr had to fight hard to bring Tony to HMS as Rick H. was unsure if they could be their best with him making the calls.

Answer 5

Figures. More of this Junior drama to get our attention.

I'm so glad I'm out of Junior nation. Go Mark Martin, the real driver of the 8.

Answer 6

Whatever happens, it's Rick Hendrick's decision to make, but I believe Tony Eury is not the best crew chief for Dale.

Answer 7

not a chance. you heard something wrong there, darlin'.

Answer 8

The way I understand how Hendrick works is he "does not" fire people. Instead he promotes them to different positions in his company.

Answer 9

I doubt it.

Answer 10

I doubt it too. Even if Jr. needed a change, it wouldn't be a firing, Jr. would just send him over to help his Nationwide team's for awhile or something.

Besides, they BOTH are employee's of Rick Hendrick anyway, so it would be his final decision.

Answer 11

I haven't heard this, it wouldn't be Dale Jr doing the firing it would be Rick Hendrick, he's the boss.. A lot of fans want him fired, but I doubt this will happen unless something totally out of this world happens..They've been together a long time and are lifetime friends and cousins.

Go Dale Jr & Hms

Answer 12

I haven't heard but after last weeks call would you blame him? But you are right blood is supposed to be thicker than water and I really don't see Jr doing that but it would be Rick Hendrick call anyways.

Answer 13

The drivers drive and the crew chiefs manage.  How many crew chiefs has Gordon had?  Did they win the races for him.  Knaus is a great crew chief, but if he had Yates cars and Gilliland driving, would he look as smart.  Gustafson with Busch - chase contenders - Gustafson with Mears not so much.  Yeley and the 18 crew chief (sorry won't know his name until after his season with Kyle) not real good, now he has Busch - leading the points.  Where is Yeley?  The crew chiefs are important, but a better question might be "Why would you fire the crew chief who's car is 3rd in points?"

Answer 14

Haven't heard anything like that yet. It is easy for me to sit at home and question Tony's calls at the track, especially when I have no experience with a race car of this caliber or a driver with such talent. It has to be tough to be up on that box and make calls that effect where your driver may run or finish. I have listened to the radio transmissions several times and have heard these two talk, it ain't always pretty. Some times you can hear Dale say what he wants and what the car is doing and then find out that Tony did something entirely differant making it worse. During the all star race I questioned 4 tires at the end which took Jr out of any chance of winning the thing. Maybe they decided to test for this weekend, I have no idea. I would say if Rick and Dale do not get the cup this year we may see Tony go as it seems that most of the problems with Jr's running have been eliminated since leaving DEI only the crew chief remains and like I have said before. It is unfortunate but like the quarterback in football the crew cheif gets the blame and the boot.

Answer 15

Rick H, is the only one that can fire Tony E, but if it comes down to Jr not getting his car setup the way it should be, I am sure he would suggest it and not hesitate, blood is thicker than water, but not when it comes to a championship.

Hendrick, will be the one to fire Tony, the sooner the better for Jr...and his car.