Speed Mail: Earnhardt Jr.'s success will affect NASCAR

by Larry McReynolds

Updated: January 31, 2008, 3:20 AM EST

Larry McReynolds: You know folks, this season we can talk about Jimmie Johnson and whether he will win his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship — something that has been only done once in our sport, we can talk about whether he can win double-digit races again (something I thought would never happen again with anybody), we can talk about Jeff Gordon and whether or not he can pick up where he left off last year . . .

But there's no question that going into this year the biggest story is going to be "How's Dale Earnhardt Jr. going to run at Hendrick Motorsports in 2008?"

And you know what? I don't think a soul knows the answer to that question yet.

Do I question in a small way the number of superstars under one roof at Hendrick Motorsports? In a small way, I do.

I feel like Earnhardt Jr. is going to get all the effort and the same equipment as Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson get. But will everything work how Rick Hendrick is hoping and anticipating? I think that organization is going to need to have someone to really make sure that it happens that way.

There's always seemed like there's been a little separation between the 2/4/8 shop and the shop that houses the 5 and 25 (now 88) cars. Resource wise, I know they are getting all of the same stuff, but what has made the Nos. 24 and 48 cars so strong is that they've been acting as one team building two cars. I know it's supposed to be one team building four cars, but that hasn't been the case.

I still believe that Rick Hendrick made a great move by hiring Tony Eury Jr. away from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to be Dale Jr.'s crew chief, because it's important for Earnhardt to come out of the box and run well. In a perfect world, the new No. 88 driver wins the Daytona 500 — it would be great for Junior, it would be great for Hendrick Motorsports, but most importantly, I think it would be great for the sport.

The absolute worst scenario is for Earnhardt Jr. to struggle at Hendrick Motorsports. If that happens we're going to lose some fans as many members of "Junior Nation" will stop watching because they are tired of seeing him struggle. The ironic thing is that he didn't run that poorly last year, but he just had bad luck in his final season with the team his father founded. He's won one race in two years; the guy he replaced at Hendrick, Kyle Busch, has more victories, top fives and top-10 finishes in that same span.

But going back to Eury Jr., I think it was great move by Hendrick to go out and hire him. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a lot like his dad — great driver, but he sort of has to be handled in a very special way. I don't think you can stick any good crew chief with him and think that it'll work. Alan Gustafson is a great crew chief, but would he have been the right crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.? I don't know. We wouldn't know the answer to that question until we got back to Daytona for Speedweeks, and by then it's too late and you'd have to make adjustments if the combination doesn't work. We know that Eury Jr. and Earnhardt Jr. complement each other, so what Rick Hendrick needs from Eury Jr. is not for him to be fixing race cars or figuring out what shocks, springs and sway bars to run — the organization has that figured out. Eury has to be the link to tie that driver with that race team and that race car. If all that works like it's supposed to, they're going to be fine and go on to win races and be championship contenders.

It all sounds and looks good right now heading into the start of Dale Jr.'s test session at Daytona this week, but will it work like he, Eury Jr. and Rick Hendrick want? Nobody knows until we start the year.

On top of hiring Eury Jr., another smart thing done by the Hendrick organization was to figure out a way to get him to start working with the team after the Talladega fall race last October. Hendrick didn't need to learn about Tony Eury Jr., but the crew chief did have to learn how things are done at Hendrick Motorsports. The head start he received allowed him to really get his feet wet. They got to do the Car of Tomorrow test at Atlanta last year, and all the preparation he was allowed to do will pay dividends when the season kicks off Feb. 17.

I think we are seeing a more focused and dedicated Dale Earnhardt Jr. Let's face it, he showed that by jumping on an airplane and heading down to Daytona Beach, Fla., last week just so he could hang out with his teammates at the first round of Sprint Cup testing despite him not being a part of the session.

I honestly believe that his team's goal, even though he has only won once over the last two seasons, is to go out and win multiple races and be a championship contender.

And I don't think that's out of the question.

Let's face it, Tony Eury Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. together had the best race car many times last year, but attrition absolutely destroyed them all season. I think that Earnhardt Jr., Eury Jr., Rick Hendrick and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports know that this is the best shot their new driver has ever had, and they had better capitalize on it.

I'll say it again, the best thing that could happen for the sport is Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the 50th annual Daytona 500 in his first outing for Hendrick Motorsports. If anybody tells you any differently, then they are simply not speaking the truth. Remember, his dad won the 40th Daytona 500 back when NASCAR was celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1998.

I say all this because Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands as good a chance as anybody. We already saw the muscles that organization has during the first test session last week, and Junior understands that draft and how to work it as good as anybody.

How will it all work out? Follow along with testing all month to get a sneak peek.

FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.