Eury Jr. axed

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a new crew chief starting with this weekend's race at Dover. The team said Thursday that Tony Eury Jr. was replaced as crew chief of Earnhardt's No. 88 team. The two are cousins and have worked together Earnhardt's entire career.

They left Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season to drive for Hendrick Motorsports, but they've yet to find consistency despite driving for NASCAR's top team.

They have one win in 48 races with Hendrick and are 19th in points. They hit rock bottom with Monday's 40th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Team manager Brian Whitesell will be the crew chief this weekend. Lance McGrew will take over next week on an interim basis as team owner Rick Hendrick figures out a long-term plan for NASCAR's most popular driver.