"Ripped that man's heart out": Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s guest reveals his father's disappointment with son amid Junior's 'deserving' remark

Tony Eury Sr., Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s uncle and former crew chief, recalled Earnhardt Sr. getting disappointed with his son after the little one wrecked his car in 1997. The incident prompted Earnhardt Sr. to reconsider fielding Dale Jr. on his team, but it was Eury Sr. who told him to take a chance on Junior amid his son's 'deserving' remark.

For a short recap, Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed his only car during a practice session at Charlotte in 1997, leaving him without a car to drive for the race. He was running a part-time Xfinity schedule under Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI).

In the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Tony Eury Sr. revealed how disappointed Dale Earnhardt Sr. was when the incident happened.

“I think the whole time his plan was he was going to put you in that car. When y’all went to Charlotte, and y’all wrecked that car, that killed that guy. I’m telling you. He was so disappointed. I mean he… that ripped that man’s heart out,” Eury Sr. said.

The seven-time NASCAR champion consulted Eury Sr. on whether to put his son in his car. The former crew chief told him to put his money on his kid and let him drive his car.

“I mean I’m telling you, you was going in that car. He says, ‘What do you think about putting Dale Jr. in this car?’ And I said, ‘Dale, you spent money on Jeff Green, you spent money on Steve Park. Why don’t you spend your money on your own kid?’ He brings that Charlotte deal up […] I said, ‘Dale, they’re kids. Put him in it,’” Eury Sr. shared.

He added:

“I said, ‘We’ll know in a year.’ I don’t think his mind was set to do it when he walked out there but he thought about it for a little while.”

Even though Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt like he didn't deserve the seat, he was given a full-time drive at DEI for the Xfinity Series, formerly the Busch Grand National Series, in 1998. The North Carolina native delivered and won back-to-back championships before moving full-time to the Sprint Cup Series in 2000.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s former crew chief once almost got fired

In the same podcast episode, Tony Eury Sr. told Dale Earnhardt Jr. that his father got mad at him for hiding a key document. The incident almost got the former crew chief fired from DEI.

For context, Eury Sr. consulted Earnhardt Sr. to make their cars smooth in the corners, just like RCR cars. When the then-RCR driver revealed that it was due to the cars not losing rpm in the turns, Eury Sr. got back to work in the wind tunnel and found a way to fix the issue. When the Intimidator asked for the build sheet, the former DEI crew chief refused.

Tony Eury Sr. believed his close friendship with Dale Sr. saved his job that day. He said:

"The friendship that me and him had, we hadn't had it. I think I got fired that day. He said, ‘Do you not know who paid you?’ And I said, ‘You know how hard we worked to get that car.’ ‘I don't care how hard you work. They need that build sheet cause I want one of them myself.'"

Eury Sr. revealed the team didn’t give the actual build sheet but rather one close to it, which was for the backup car. He added that it was the maddest he made Dale Earnhardt Sr.