AVONDALE, Ariz. Brad Keselowski’s crew chief was headed to the prerace driver meeting when Juan Pablo Montoya cut him off at the door. “The next two weeks, you better bring your worst cars,“ Montoya told Roy McCauley. “Why’s that?“ McCauley asked. “Because they are going to get wrecked,“ Montoya warned. “Somebody is going to wreck him, if Denny Hamlin doesn’t do it first.“

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Dale Earnhardt Jr. will keep his crew chief next season. Hendrick Motorsports says Lance McGrew will stay with the No. 88 team in 2010. McGrew took over the job on an interim basis in May when Tony Eury Jr. was fired after a horrendous start to the season. Team owner Rick Hendrick says he has faith that McGrew can get the No. 88 team turned around. Earnhardt is 24th in the standings, and has two top 10 finishes since McGrew took over.

Chris and George debate how to improve racing at Talladega. Also, Tony Stewart is George’s pick to win this weekend, but Chris likes Dale Jr.‘s chances better.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Nobody is trying to sugarcoat the train wreck that is Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s season. He knows it’s bad. His car owner knows it’s bad. All of NASCAR knows it’s bad. Only nobody knows how to fix it. And as the most prolific pairing in NASCAR history teeters on the brink of disaster, car owner Rick Hendrick is in a race to figure out what to do with his No. 88 team before Earnhardt loses what’s left of his crumbling confidence.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit rock bottom during his last trip to Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He struggled with his car, feuded with his crew chief and finished a season-low 40th in one of the most embarrassing weekends of his career. Team owner Rick Hendrick fired crew chief Tony Eury Jr. three days after that May debacle, and things were supposed to turn around with some fresh leadership on Earnhardt’s No. 88 team.

NASCAR President Mike Helton agrees with Dale Earnhardt Jr. that the sport should always be looking for ways to improve. Where he differs is over Earnhardt’s suggestion that NASCAR’s redesigned race car needs wholesale changes. Speaking at Michigan International Speedway yesterday, Helton said officials are looking at potential improvements to the new car, which was referred to as the Car of Tomorrow, or CoT, in the run-up to its 2007 introduction.

JOLIET, Ill.—His race-day results with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a steady decline, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. lost confidence in his setups and strategies. He quit talking with Earnhardt on the radio because every brief conversation was dissected by critical fans and media. Earnhardt can feel the weight of NASCAR and its fans on him at times as the sport’s most popular driver. And when he failed, it was his cousin and loyal crew chief who often took the unfair hit.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t won in his past 38 Sprint Cup starts. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t know when he’ll end his winless streak, or how long it will take to turn around his horrendous season. The only thing NASCAR’s most popular driver—winless in 38 races—is certain of is that he’s not strong enough to withstand another year like this one.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had one of the most satisfying 13th-place finishes in his NASCAR career yesterday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Gas strategies and a rain-shortened race probably cost the crowd favorite a better finish, but Earnhardt ran well throughout the day, spending most of the 273 laps in the top 10 and running quite a bit in the top five.

It’s been a long, eventful year since Dale Earnhardt Jr. last visited victory lane in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. When Junior squeezed the last drop of gas out of his tank to win at Michigan International Speedway last June, it appeared the victory might provide the turnaround he and his Hendrick Motorsports team were seeking.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. worked with his interim crew chief a week earlier than expected. The solid result in the No. 88 Chevrolet came just in time. Earnhardt appeared in sync with Lance McGrew in their first race together, and the 12th-place finish yesterday at Dover International Speedway was a nice first and badly needed step toward salvaging Earnhardt’s slumping season.

Brad Keselowski found the emotional boost he needed in his first Nationwide Series victory of the year. A day after he failed to qualify for the Sprint Cup race, Keselowski shot past Kyle Busch and Joey Logano during a restart with two laps left to win at Dover International Speedway yesterday. Keselowski led only one lap in his first career Cup win at Talladega in April, giving him three laps led total in his two NASCAR victories this season.

All Martin Truex Jr. needs to do to gauge the enormous impact Dale Earnhardt Jr. has on NASCAR is take a peek at the packed stands every race day. The fans dress in Junior’s colors, bring their No. 88 signs and roar when his name is mentioned in race introductions. Earnhardt’s firm grip as NASCAR’s most popular driver hasn’t waned even as the wins have dried up. Somehow, the lack of trips to victory lane hasn’t affected how Junior Nation feels about the son of the legendary former Cup champion.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed loyal to his cousin and crew chief through last year’s frustrating finish and this year’s slumping start. Amid wrong setups, misguided race strategies and pit-road problems, nothing seemed to tear the longtime duo apart. Until team owner Rick Hendrick had seen enough. Hendrick removed Tony Eury Jr. from his position as Earnhardt’s crew chief yesterday, ending months of speculation concerning the struggles of NASCAR’s most popular driver.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a new crew chief starting with this weekend’s race at Dover because of a slump that has dragged deep into the season. Tony Eury Jr. was removed today as crew chief of Earnhardt’s No. 88 team. The two are cousins and have worked together during Earnhardt’s entire career. They left Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. But 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.