^[1]Following the departure of Tony Eury Sr ^[2], and the subsequent hiring of Ryan Pemberton ^[3], JR Motorsports announced that veteran crew chief and team co-owner Tony Eury Jr has been let go as crew chief for the team’s No. 7 Nationwide Series team and driver Danica Patrick.

Eury Jr said:

They’re trying to fix the competition of the cars. They thought they could do better without me there. They hired Ryan and Ryan’s their guy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, who co-owns the team with his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and Eury Jr. , issued a statement:

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 No. 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.

Earnhardt and Eury Jr worked together as driver and crew chief, respectively, in the Sprint Cup Series at Dale Earnhardt Inc and Hendrick Motorsports. They had a somewhat tumultuous relationship in those roles, and eventually were separated by Rick Hendrick ^[4], with Lance McGrew replacing Eury Jr as Earnhardt’s crew chief.

Eury Jr joined JRM as a crew chief full time around that time.

Update: New hire Ryan Pemberton will serve as interim crew chief for Danica Patrick and the No. 88 JR Motorsports team for the Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway, the team announced.

A crew chief beyond the race at Kentucky has not been named.

Related Stories

• JR Motorsports Hires Veteran Crew Chief Pemberton ^[3]
• JR Motorsports, Eury Sr Agree To Part Ways ^[2]
• Eury Jr Out As Dale Jr’s Crew Chief ^[4]