“The maddest I ever made him”: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s uncle reveals when he angered Dale Sr. for hiding key document

Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s former crew chief, Tony Eury Sr., a close friend of his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., was featured on his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, and opened up about the moment he almost got fired by Dale Sr. for not sharing a key document.

Eury Sr. mentioned that he had a convo with Dale Sr. about why Richard Childress' cars performed better in the corners, and Dale Sr. mentioned that RCR cars didn't lose any rpm in the corners. To overcome the issue, the DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) team took their cars in the wind tunnel to study the flaw, and Eury Sr. found a way to fix it.

"So we go to the wind tunnel, work on the car. So when they turn the car to the right, it lose drag. We were having a discussion sitting at their table talking about it. I said, Well, it sounds to me like we just need to turn the whole car. They went in that fab shop, and they chopped that thing off. We went to the wind tunnel, and when it returned, it right," explained Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s former crew chief. [00:24]

After the fabrication changes, DEI's car moved up to the top of the build sheet, and their competitors wanted to see the sheet, but Eury Jr. suggested sharing the backup car's sheet with the competitors, and the team opposed this decision. They called Dale Earnhardt Sr., informing him about the situation. This made the NASCAR legend furious and almost got Tony Eury Sr. fired. Sharing his experience, 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. We never actually gave them the one for the back car. We gave them one close to it. I believe that's the maddest I ever made you. He was not happy over that one." [01:01]

---

Dale Earnhardt Jr. confessed he was "amazed" by Tony Eury Sr.'s confidence during DEI days

In the same podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalled a moment from his early days of racing under DEI with Budweiser's sponsorship. He shared his experience working under former crew chief Tony Eury Sr. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver mentioned that he was "amazed" by Eury Sr.'s tall hopes for the organization even in the initial days.

"I do want to talk about the bud days. I was always amazed by y'all confidence. You and Tony Jr. You and Tony Jr. thought that that car should be at the top of the sheet practice; it should win the pole and win the race. You know, we get into the Cup series, and y'all attitude about it didn't change," stated Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Eury Sr. mentioned that Eury Jr. went to Hendrick Motorsports for an interview and was awe-struck by the phenomenal tech they used to improve their cars. He returned to Eury Sr. and praised him, tapping his back. Eury Sr. stated:

"He said, I want you to know you won't believe what I just seen what we've been racing against—and we beat him. We don't have nothing here. He said, Man, we beat him." [00:31]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. competed in 291 races with the Budweiser paint scheme and won 17 races from 1999 to 2007 before he transitioned to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.