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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Earnhardt Jr. Needs To Argue Less, Improve Communication - Evernham
Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs to commit to giving better feedback to crew chief Lance McGrew...
Bob Pockrass  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted August 25, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Left) and crew chief Lance McGrew (Right) need to communicate better to improve in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. (Photo: Getty Images)
If Dale Earnhardt Jr. is committed to being a championship race-car driver, he will need to react better to situations during the race and communicate better with his crew chief, three-time Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham said.

Evernham, who hired current Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Lance McGrew at Hendrick Motorsports in 1999, said he himself had similar issues with Jeff Gordon earlier in his career.

Earnhardt Jr. has 18 career victories but only one in his last 158 races and only one since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. He changed crew chiefs from cousin Tony Eury Jr. to McGrew in May 2009 and while there have been signs of improvement, Earnhardt Jr. is 18th in the 2010 standings, has no wins this year and has virtually no hope of making the Chase For The Sprint Cup for the second consecutive season.

“I don’t see improvement until the communication gets better,” Evernham said Tuesday following an appearance to talk about the evolution of a pit stop at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “I’m not close enough to Junior to know what’s going on. I am close enough to Rick Hendrick to know that Rick is trying everything he can do. He’s putting a lot of effort in getting that turned around.

“I know Junior a little bit and I’ve talked to him. I feel like I knew his dad pretty well. In the end, a person has to decide whether they’re committed to something or not. That’s just the bottom line. He’s talented enough to win races. He’s talented enough to win championships. But I listen on the scanner and you just can’t be aggravated all the time.”

The former crew chief and team owner, Evernham currently serves as an analyst for ESPN.

“I sincerely want to see him do good,” he said. “I really do. There’s a ton of people that are more than happy and willing to help him, but sometimes you’ve got to be a big part of the solution, too. … At some time, you’ve just got to say look, ‘This is what I have to do to get the job done. I have to fit this personality to get the job done.’

“When you’re arguing, you’re not being productive.”

Evernham stressed he had great respect for Earnhardt Jr. as a driver. Earnhardt Jr. has three times finished in the top five in points but has finished 16th, 12th and 25th the last three seasons. One of the keys is feedback to get the car better throughout the race, Evernham said.

“You want a little bit more consistency [in feedback],” Evernham said. “Guys that are doing good, if you listen to Jimmie Johnson or if you listen to Jeff, 75 percent of the time they’re going to be straight-up, and 25 percent of the time they’re going to be a pain in the ass or be a smart ass. You just have to put up with it because it’s hot, they’re trying hard and the noise drives them crazy.

“Somebody gets on your nerves, they get on your nerves. Or they’re frustrated. But they can’t be up-and-down and they can’t make it personal."

Earnhardt Jr. arguing on the radio is nothing new. He has done it with crew chiefs for years and says it is nothing personal. But Evernham believes the back-and-forth is not constructive.

“I was listening to he and Lance the other night, and there’s just times I just think there is stuff that is said on the radio both ways that don’t need to be said,” Evernham said. “That’s my opinion that sometimes Lance says stuff to him that shouldn’t be said, and Junior says stuff to him that shouldn’t be said.

“That’s what happened with Tony. And that kind of thing has got to stop happening. If Lance and Junior’s personality don’t fit, then they need to do something else again.”

Both Gordon and Kasey Kahne have had similar problems at times, Evernham said.

“The first couple of years [with Gordon], we had our spats on the radio.” Evernham said. “I felt like he was pretty immature, but Jeff always listened. He had enough respect for myself and for Rick Hendrick, that he evolved.

“The key thing with anybody is that Jeff knew I cared about him and I wasn’t just [ripping] him. I want to win, you want to win, but you can’t be yelling and screaming like that because when you’re yelling at me, you’re going slow.”

During the week, Evernham and Gordon would listen to the in-car radio transmissions from the previous race so Gordon could understand why Evernham had trouble adjusting the car. The meetings were done privately, and Evernham was able to make Gordon understand the importance of solid feedback.

“I would go, ‘All right, what would you want me to do?’ And he’d go, ‘Man, I’m sorry,’” Evernham said. “I would say, ‘How can I fix it? You’re screaming at me one time it’s pushing, another it’s loose and the next time you’re just calling me an idiot. What am I going to do?’

“And then he started to realize that he had to control his emotions before he could get us bonded. I had several conversations with Kasey Kahne about that and still do. Kasey Kahne has the talent to become a champion and I’ve told Kasey, ‘You’ve got to control your emotions before you can become a champion’ and I think he is doing that.”

Evernham said reviewing his radio communications might help Earnhardt Jr.

“Maybe Junior doesn’t even know when he’s mad,” Evernham said. “Jeff didn’t. With Jeff, a big part of it was when we started with the fresh air in the car. Jeff used to get carbon monoxide really bad and three-quarters near the end of the race like at Martinsville when we were rookies, he’d be yelling at me and I’d be like, ‘What is the problem with this guy?’
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is currently in 18th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. (Photo: Getty Images)

“After the race, he’d be like, ‘Oh man, I have a terrible headache. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.’ It just wasn’t him.”

Now Evernham is not lobbying to be Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief. He’s just talking about a driver he has seen enjoy the highs and lows of the sport while bearing the one of the most famous names in the sport.

“I wish I could wave a magic wand and help him because I have so much respect for his father and have so much respect for him,” Evernham said. “I really like Junior. I hate to see somebody that I know is capable of really running good, not running good. That bothers me. Ask any other driver, and drivers know, if you ask another driver if Junior can drive a race car and they will tell you absolutely that that guy can drive.

“We know he can drive. So for him not to be winning, it is a shame.”

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