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SPEED Quotes: McReynolds On Departure Of Eurys; Potential Of JRM Drivers
SPEED analyst Larry McReynolds offers analysis on the motivation behind the shakeup at JR Motorsports...
Larry McReynolds is a NASCAR analyst for SPEED and NASCAR on FOX. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
MCREYNOLDS OFFERS INSIGHT INTO THE DEPARTURE OF THE EURYS FROM JR MOTORSPORTS
JR Motorsports confirmed Monday that Tony Eury, Jr., Danica Patrick’s NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chief, no longer is with the team just one week after his father, Tony Eury, Sr., and the organization parted ways.
SPEED analyst Larry McReynolds offers his perspective on the motivation behind these organizational changes, the team’s performance struggles and the potential of Patrick and her teammate, Cole Whitt.
“This whole deal has to be so hard on everybody involved. Not only does it involve family, which complicates matters, but it’s family members who have enjoyed a ton of success together. Dale Jr. won the majority of his Cup Series races at DEI with the Eurys. He won his two Nationwide championships in 1998 and 1999 with Tony Eury, Sr. Dale Earnhardt, Sr., had great success as an owner with Tony Eury, Sr. guiding the ship for DEI’s Nationwide Series efforts. It’s my understanding that Tony Eury, Sr.’s dad worked with Ralph Earnhardt, so these family roots run deep.
“But I have to believe this race team wasn’t even close to where they thought it should be. They truly have struggled the past year-and-a-half. Is that Tony Jr. or Tony Sr.’s fault? We don’t know that and they probably don’t either. But when you have a business like JR Motorsports and you’re facing an uphill battle every single day, like all other teams, to secure sponsorship, you sometimes have to separate family from business and make changes.
“Another example is Chip Ganassi having to let longtime employees Steve Hmiel and Tony Glover go at the end of 2011. Now, 27 Cup races into 2012, does it appear those two were the problem? Obviously not. Neither Juan Pablo Montoya nor Jamie McMurray have a top-five finish this year. But Chip had to do something.
“JR Motorsports had to try something to improve their teams’ performance. I have a feeling they parted ways with Tony Eury, Sr., with the hopes that Tony Jr. would keep moving forward with the team. It appears that didn’t happen. But his father was let go. Would I feel comfortable working for a company that parted ways with my dad? Probably not. Very few people could.
“It’s tough but it’s a business. That company faces a tough situation heading into 2013, whether with Cole Whitt or whoever drives that No. 88 car. They must have sponsorship for it. We know Danica Patrick won’t run the No. 7 car fulltime in 2013, although I think she wants to run a few, so they still have to find sponsorship for the races she doesn’t run.
“Will the Eurys leaving and Ryan Pemberton going over there turn JR Motorsports around? Probably not, but again, they had to try something. They have the biggest name in the sport – Dale Jr. -- but at the same time, when you’re looking for money, you have to perform.
“I think their current driver lineup is running as well they’re going to run. In the Nationwide Series, Danica Patrick is probably as good as she’s going to be. She’s going to run between ninth and 15th and maybe score a top five on a really good day. I don’t care if you put Chad Knaus in as her crew chief. She’s going to run where she is running. As much as I’d love to say she could run fender-to-fender with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Austin Dillon or Elliott Sadler, I don’t think it’s there. Danica is great for our sport and I’m excited about her running fulltime in the Cup Series. But she has run 51 Nationwide Series races, and that’s a lot of races.
“By the same token, Cole Whitt is going to run where he is running. He was thrown into the deep end pretty fast. I think he’s between a sixth and 12th place driver right now. That’s where he ran with the Eurys, and that’s where he’s going to run without them.
“JR Motorsports has some pretty good benchmarks to judge by. JR Motorsports is a Chevrolet team. RCR is a Chevrolet team, and they’re winning races and sitting second and third in the points, so it’s not a Chevrolet problem. JR Motorsports runs Hendrick engines but Turner Motorsports is winning races with Hendrick engines, so it’s not the engines. So, I think this is why they had to do something to try to make their race cars better.”
JR Motorsports confirmed Monday that Tony Eury, Jr., Danica Patrick’s NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chief, no longer is with the team just one week after his father, Tony Eury, Sr., and the organization parted ways.
SPEED analyst Larry McReynolds offers his perspective on the motivation behind these organizational changes, the team’s performance struggles and the potential of Patrick and her teammate, Cole Whitt.
“This whole deal has to be so hard on everybody involved. Not only does it involve family, which complicates matters, but it’s family members who have enjoyed a ton of success together. Dale Jr. won the majority of his Cup Series races at DEI with the Eurys. He won his two Nationwide championships in 1998 and 1999 with Tony Eury, Sr. Dale Earnhardt, Sr., had great success as an owner with Tony Eury, Sr. guiding the ship for DEI’s Nationwide Series efforts. It’s my understanding that Tony Eury, Sr.’s dad worked with Ralph Earnhardt, so these family roots run deep.
“But I have to believe this race team wasn’t even close to where they thought it should be. They truly have struggled the past year-and-a-half. Is that Tony Jr. or Tony Sr.’s fault? We don’t know that and they probably don’t either. But when you have a business like JR Motorsports and you’re facing an uphill battle every single day, like all other teams, to secure sponsorship, you sometimes have to separate family from business and make changes.
“Another example is Chip Ganassi having to let longtime employees Steve Hmiel and Tony Glover go at the end of 2011. Now, 27 Cup races into 2012, does it appear those two were the problem? Obviously not. Neither Juan Pablo Montoya nor Jamie McMurray have a top-five finish this year. But Chip had to do something.
“JR Motorsports had to try something to improve their teams’ performance. I have a feeling they parted ways with Tony Eury, Sr., with the hopes that Tony Jr. would keep moving forward with the team. It appears that didn’t happen. But his father was let go. Would I feel comfortable working for a company that parted ways with my dad? Probably not. Very few people could.
“It’s tough but it’s a business. That company faces a tough situation heading into 2013, whether with Cole Whitt or whoever drives that No. 88 car. They must have sponsorship for it. We know Danica Patrick won’t run the No. 7 car fulltime in 2013, although I think she wants to run a few, so they still have to find sponsorship for the races she doesn’t run.
“Will the Eurys leaving and Ryan Pemberton going over there turn JR Motorsports around? Probably not, but again, they had to try something. They have the biggest name in the sport – Dale Jr. -- but at the same time, when you’re looking for money, you have to perform.
“I think their current driver lineup is running as well they’re going to run. In the Nationwide Series, Danica Patrick is probably as good as she’s going to be. She’s going to run between ninth and 15th and maybe score a top five on a really good day. I don’t care if you put Chad Knaus in as her crew chief. She’s going to run where she is running. As much as I’d love to say she could run fender-to-fender with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Austin Dillon or Elliott Sadler, I don’t think it’s there. Danica is great for our sport and I’m excited about her running fulltime in the Cup Series. But she has run 51 Nationwide Series races, and that’s a lot of races.
“By the same token, Cole Whitt is going to run where he is running. He was thrown into the deep end pretty fast. I think he’s between a sixth and 12th place driver right now. That’s where he ran with the Eurys, and that’s where he’s going to run without them.
“JR Motorsports has some pretty good benchmarks to judge by. JR Motorsports is a Chevrolet team. RCR is a Chevrolet team, and they’re winning races and sitting second and third in the points, so it’s not a Chevrolet problem. JR Motorsports runs Hendrick engines but Turner Motorsports is winning races with Hendrick engines, so it’s not the engines. So, I think this is why they had to do something to try to make their race cars better.”
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