Eury Jr. Joining Hendrick Motorsports As Earnhardt Jr.'s Crew Chief

[PressRoom-GFN]

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 4, 2008) -- When Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins Hendrick Motorsports for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Tony Eury Jr. will remain as his crew chief.

Eury Jr., Earnhardt Jr.'s cousin and crew chief for the past two seasons, signed a multi-year agreement with Hendrick Motorsports this week.

"Tony Jr. and Dale have a successful history working together," Hendrick said in a prepared statement. "They have trust in each other, which is the biggest part of the relationship between driver and crew chief. We have the utmost confidence in their ability to win races and compete for titles at Hendrick Motorsports."

A Kannapolis, N.C., native, Eury Jr. will move to Hendrick Motorsports immediately after the current NASCAR season concludes. He will continue the work of Darian Grubb, who will finish the 2007 schedule as crew chief of the No. 25 Chevrolets driven by Casey Mears before moving into a senior competition role with Hendrick Motorsports.

"Dale Jr. and I are both excited to continue working together," said Eury Jr., 34, who has been Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief or car chief for the majority of the driver's NASCAR career. "With the resources we'll have at Hendrick Motorsports, it's an opportunity to consistently run up front and be in title contention every year. The goals are winning races and winning championships."

Grubb, 31, a Floyd, Va., native will coordinate the at-track engineering efforts of the Earnhardt Jr. and Mears teams with emphasis on supporting Eury Jr.'s transition to Hendrick Motorsports and Mears' switch to the No. 5 Cup Series program.

The personnel moves give Hendrick Motorsports additional depth with the Earnhardt Jr. and Mears teams. Grubb, who earned a championship as an engineer with Jimmie Johnson's team and won three times in 29 races as a crew chief, will work hand-in-hand with veteran team manager Brian Whitesell.

"We've asked Darian to shoulder more responsibility and take another step," Hendrick said. "With all the challenges and difficult situations we've thrown his way, he has always proven to be successful. Darian is a star in our organization and his contributions will be vital to our future success.

"This is an extremely talented group we're putting behind Casey and Dale Jr. With the combination of Alan [Gustafson], Tony, Darian and Brian in key leadership positions, we feel strongly that both teams will have the tools to be successful in 2008 and beyond."

Hendrick Motorsports is evaluating alternative numbers for the Earnhardt Jr. team, which currently uses the No. 25 on its Chevrolet race cars. A timetable for that announcement has not been set.