Write Turn: Two points of view on 'The Two Juniors'

Updated Aug. 21

Junior Nation has spoken and there's more of a split reaction to my column regarding crew chief Tony Eury Jr. than I thought. NASCAR's 2009 schedule also caught the attention of readers, as did the IRL's decision to take its races off ESPN in favor of the Versus Network.

From: 2lune

You have no right to call for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Eury, Jr. to split up! Not only are they family, they work together pretty well from where I sit and the last few weeks when strategy didn't work out as they had hoped could have happened to any crew chief sitting on top of that box! I hope the two Juniors don't let all this negative talk affect them and go about their business, which has been pretty good this year.

Hmmm, The Two Juniors sounds like it could be a great reality TV show, better than The Two Coreys. My opinion is that picking a new crew chief from the wealth of talent within Hendrick Motorsports would have served Earnhardt better in his transition to the new team. Eury Jr. certainly should have a role with the No. 88 squad, but maybe as car chief. He hasn't shown to me at least the ability to make consistent quality calls from the pit box.

From: dellph Pete, you hit the nail on the head and it's something I've believed for years. Tony Eury Jr. is not a top notch crew chief in the mold of Chad Knaus or Bob Osborne or even Steve Addington. Rick Hendrick should not have caved into Junior's demands and given his cousin the job. A new crew chief from the Hendrick mold would have been the right move, but blood got in the way in my opinion.

I agree with you completely and although Eury Jr. has guided Earnhardt to Victory Lane many times in his Cup career, I think his strength in strategy is not on par with the guys you mentioned. It will be interesting to see what happens in the Chase and how many times Knaus outsmarts or outcalls his crew chief teammate.

From: 34ever

NASCAR finally admitted its mistake and pulled the disaster of having a Labor Day weekend race in southern California off the schedule and brought tit back to the southeast where it belongs. But why not just restore the date to Darlington and have the Southern 500 back where it belongs?

While NASCAR did the right thing in pulling Labor Day from Fontana and moving it back to the Southeast, I don't think the sanctioning body will ever admit it made a huge mistake by killing the Southern 500 the way it did, so it will never be reinstated. The race is back in name only when Darlington hosts its Mother's Day weekend race next year. Moving Fontana back to October will be better for that track weather-wise, but unless management wises up and markets the race to fans from around the region -- and not the glitz and glamour of the Hollywood set headquartered some 50 miles to the track's west, which doesn't care an iota about NASCAR racing -- the October race will be a tough sell as well.

From: brokes

Thank goodness Mexico City is gone and a real track is on the Nationwide Series schedule at Iowa Speedway. I think that may be one of the most popular races of the season.

I'm with you there and never liked running a road course in Mexico when there were so many deserving tracks stateside. Iowa Speedway is one of the best tracks I've visited in the last five years. But more seats will need to be added for the NASCAR weekend next August and be prepared, there is one way in and one way out of that track outside Des Moines. Traffic will be a nightmare.

From: jjs

Let me see if I have this right. The "new" IRL ditched ESPN for the Versus Network? That seems like a major step backward to me.

Word is Tony George hated the way the IRL took a backseat at ESPN to NASCAR and virtually every other sport beside live poker. So while he kept the Indy 500 and a handful of races on ABC, he took the money Versus was offering -- ESPN was not going to pay any kind of rights fees -- and hopes his racing will help build the network, which also has the NHL and some college football. You can get Versus on most cable and satellite systems in your home, but try finding an Indy Car race at a bar or restaurant or hotel. Distribution is about 20 million less than ESPN.