The following writing was posted on the Pit Board this afternoon.  (I do not know who the author is so, if you do, please let me know so I can give them proper credit.)  I think this is a very well written piece regarding Tony Eury Jr and the JR Nation fan base.  My personal opinion in a nutshell.  Dale Jr trusts & believes in Tony Jr.  That really is all that matters.  I can’t think of anyone else who could step into Tony Eury Jr’s shoes and do any better right now.  To complain about this season is absurd.  I was hoping for 1 win this season and figured the Chase was probably a dream for 2009.  Instead, the 88 team has 2 non-points race wins and 1 points race win.  Plus, they entered the Chase 4th in points.  Not too shabby at all.  Anyways…Read this.

Much has been made the past 11 Nascar Sprint Cup races, (and at least 85 previous races) concerning the relationship or lack thereof between driver Dale Earnhardt Jr and his cousin / Crew Chief Tony Eury Jr. There seems to be a proverbial chink in the armor, a split in the force that has been named “Junior Nation.” The former Red Army that has accumulated more soldiers in the last 10 years than the Armed Forces serving America. What could cause this split in such a dominant fan base in the history of sports, possibly surpassing the name of Michael Jordan? Three words: Tony. Eury. Junior.

When Earnhardt Junior wins…the new Amp Army wins. When he looses due to an ill performing race car in a disappointing 20th place finish or worse….part of the Amp Army roll out the tanks and take aim at Eury. The other half come to his defense as well as Earnhardt Junior himself. So is the Eury revolt justified? Possibly. Do statistics on top of the pit box warrant a changing of the guard? Maybe so. But that decision lies with the Commander and Chief of HMS himself. Could Earnhardt win more with a Crew Chief other than Eury Jr? Doubtful.

If there is one thing that has came through the chink in the armor is Earnhardt’s lack of communication…somewhat anyway. Oh, he communicates alright, with enough expletives to make the Pope want to bathe in Holy Water but he doesn’t communicate what Eury needs to make the appropriate changes to the car, or so we’ve been told the last few weeks. So which Junior needs to attend a “Come to Jesus” meeting? Eury is in the eye of the hurricane, but Earnhardt himself is the surrounding storm. A new Crew Chief would be in the same eye of Hurricane Junior as Eury. Lack of communication will still equal 1 win per year.

What needs to be done? Who knows. What does the Amp Army want? Wins. Wins to prove that it was the lack of effort from Teresa Earnhardt and DEI that Junior Nation was denied wins. Wins to prove that Earnhardt, when given the right resources, can dominate a race track like the 4 in a row at Talladega. Wins to look at some members of the press with a middle finger in the air.

When all the smoke clears and the cannon’s have been loaded back into the trucks and the tanks driven to the back of the field once again…I believe I see what all of Junior Nation wants. They want to see Junior live up to the full potential that is Earnhardt. They know he is in the right equipment with the right leader at the helm. They want to see the number 88 at the top of the leader board when the checkered flag drops. Will Eury Jr be there when that start’s to happen? Maybe. But until that number is at the top of the pilon, there will always be some grumbling among the ranks of the Amp Army. But make no mistake about it, even though there is a split among the ranks the Amp Army can consolidate and regroup full force when duty calls. Just ask Kyle Bush about the snipers in the hilltops.