All News Dale Earnhardt Jr. Danica Patrick Dave Blaney

Ryan Pemberton hired by JR Motorsports: UPDATES – Eury, Jr. out:

September 18, 2012 at 12:00 AM
  • Ryan Pemberton hired by JR Motorsports: UPDATES – Eury, Jr. out: Ryan Pemberton, a former crew chief for several Sprint Cup teams, has joined JR Motorsports. Pemberton takes a similar role to what Tony Eury Sr. had as competition director for the organization, although the team has not yet announced whether he will hold that title. Eury Sr., the uncle of team co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller and the father of co-owner Tony Eury Jr., was released last week. ‘He started Monday and he’s come in to help Kelley, help us with some ideas on what direction we can go to get better’ Earnhardt Jr. of Pemberton. Pemberton was most recently was crew chief for Dave Blaney at TBR. TBR has not yet named a replacement for the 43-year-old Pemberton, the younger brother of NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.(Sporting News)(9-12-2012)
    UPDATE: JR Motorsports has released Tony Eury Jr. from his duties as crew chief for Danica Patrick and the #7 GoDaddy.com Nationwide Series team. Eury was told Monday morning he was being replaced by Ryan Pemberton. Eury joined JRM after working as crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #88 Sprint Cup team at Hendrick Motorsports. ‘They’re trying to fix the competition of the cars, ” Eury said. ‘They thought they could do better without me there. They hired Ryan and Ryan’s their guy.” Eury remains part of the ownership group of JRM. ‘We’re still in discussions about that’ he said. As far as his relationship with his cousin Dale Earnhardt Jr., also a co-owner of the team, Eury said that, ‘Me and Dale Jr. are perfect. We’re fine.”(Fox Sports)(9-17-2012)
    UPDATE 2: The following is a statement from Dale Earnhardt Jr., founder and owner of JR Motorsports, regarding the departure of crew chief Tony Eury Jr.: ‘Unfortunately Tony Jr. is no longer with the company. I had hoped he would be here for a long time, but as we’ve discussed the direction of JR Motorsports moving forward, it was clear our differences in ideas were too vast to overcome. I love him like a brother, and you’ll never hear me say a bad thing about him. I know he’ll have much success in anything he does going forward. As for our #7 team, no decision has been made on who will crew chief that team this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. We will discuss our options and make a decision very soon.”(JR Motorsports)(9-17-2012)
    UPDATE 3: JR Motorsports director of competition, Ryan Pemberton, will serve as interim crew chief for the #7 GoDaddy.com team and driver Danica Patrick this weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway, general manager Kelley Earnhardt-Miller confirmed today. Earnhardt-Miller said a crew chief for the team beyond this weekend has not been determined.(JR Motorsports)(9-18-2012)