Swan Racing owner Brandon Davis said:

We have a long-term vision for Swan Racing and the addition of Tony Jr. is another step in that process. Tony brings a world of experience to Swan Racing and will be part of our long-term success.

Eury Jr said:

I am looking forward to working with David Stremme behind the wheel and with competition director Steve Hmiel.

Hmiel added:

Tony Jr. has pretty much done it all from tire changer to crew chief. His experience and knowledge will be pivotal to the success of Swan Racing.

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Smith’s car is the only one that, at this time, is slated to run the full schedule. The team hopes to field the Nos. 5 and 7 full time in 2013, with Dale Earnhardt Jr driving the No. 88 in select races. JRM hopes to keep Cole Whitt, putting him in the No. 7.

JRM General Manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller said:

We feel it is important for our sponsors, our fans, and even Dale to keep his Nationwide Series number consistent with his Cup number. His brand is associated with the #88. That’s what makes him distinguishable on the race track, so it’s only natural that he drives the #88 all the time. To do that, we are making our #5 Chevy our full-time entry. We hope to have Cole in the #7 full time in 2013, and we are working hard on securing sponsorship for that.

JRM has made a lot of changes recently. Earlier this year, the team parted ways with Tony Eury Sr and Tony Eury Jr. They also hired veteran crew chief Ryan Pemberton.

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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, 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.

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Eury Sr has served as the team’s competition director for the last five years, winning nine races in that span, with the last coming in 2010 with Jamie McMurray driving.

Team general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller said:

The conversation Tony Sr. and I had was one of the most difficult I’ve ever been a part of. I believe Tony Sr.’s passion for the sport is exceeded only by his yearning to excel in it, and that itself became the issue that both he and I struggled with. At JR Motorsports we do this to win races and compete for championships, and lately we have not met that standard. Being the competitor that Tony Sr. is, I know that bothers him more than anyone.

JRM has gone two years without a win, and the team has been looking for ways to improve performance. Earlier this year, crew chiefs Bruce Cook and Eury Sr swapped teams, with Cook taking over crew chief duties for the No. 88 team and driver Cole Whitt, while Eury Sr took over crew chief duties for the part time No. 5 team with drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ron Fellows.

Eury Sr’s son, Tony Eury Jr, is crew chief of the No. 7 Chevy driven by Danica Patrick.

Eury Sr said:

I want what’s best for Dale Jr., Kelley, Tony Jr., and all those employees. I really do. We accomplished a lot in a short time, and nobody is prouder of that than I am. I’m not sure what’s next for me, and I’m not sure I’m in a hurry to find out.

The No. 7 driven by Danica Patrick was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20A-2.3A (improperly attached weight) of the Nationwide rule book.

Crew chief Tony Eury Jr has been fined $10,000 and put on probation until March 28, 2012.

Francis and Kahne have been together since 2005, when Francis took over crew chief duties from Tommy Baldwin Jr. in the middle of that season. Baldwin left the team to work with Elliott Sadler at Yates Racing.

Francis and Kahne have combined for 10 wins together, and have made the chase together twice.

If Francis moves to RBR to serve as crew chief for Kahne, it is likely — assuming he doesn’t sign a multi-year deal with RBR — to fuel speculation that Francis will also leave RBR following the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season to move with Kahne to Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 team.

If that happens, that would leave HMS with five crew chiefs and four teams in 2012, if no other moves are made between now and then. Of HMS’ current crew chief stable, it would appear that Alan Gustafson, crew chief of Mark Martin and the No. 5, would be the odd man out.

But, earlier this season, Gustafson signed a multi-year extension with HMS so he is likely to stay with the organization. There is a chance he will be moved to the research and development department.

But, I don’t think he will. I think that — assuming no other moves are made — he will become crew chief to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Before Tony Eury Jr and Earnhardt Jr were separated, there were rumors that team owner Rick Hendrick was considering swapping Eury Jr and Gustafson. While those reports were denied, there is a good chance they were actually considered. And, if that’s the case, Hendrick had to think that the pairing of Gustafson and Jr would be productive, or he wouldn’t have considered it.

After the rumors surfaced, Gustafson and Mark Martin began to improve their performance, stopping any chance for a swap.

If Gustafson were moved to Jr’s No. 88 team, that would pave the way for Lance McGrew to return to his previous role in the R&D department. Back in April, I wrote:

I don’t think — of course I don’t have insider knowledge — that McGrew would mind stepping out of the crew chief role. He seemed to be willing to accept the role as Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief more because Hendrick asked rather than because of a genuine interest.

So, if Francis does indeed sign on with HMS, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gustafson and Jr together in 2012.

This announcement ensures that Knaus will remain paired with four-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson for the next several years. Johnson signed a five-year extension with  HMS at the end of last year, and it is likely that Knaus’ deal would keep him at HMS for the same amount of time. This, of course, is purely speculation.

Gustafson’s role, however, is much less certain. He is currently crew chief for the No. 5 team and driver Mark Martin. With the addition of Kasey Kahne to HMS in 2012, Martin will step out of the No. 5.

The issue is that Kahne’s contract with Richard Petty Motorsports expires this year, and all indications are that he would move to Stewart Haas Racing, an HMS affiliated team, for one season before moving to HMS in 2012.

Many believe that Gustafson will become Kahne’s crew chief when he joins the organization. And all indications point to that. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the case.

Before Tony Eury Jr was removed from his position as Dale Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief last season, there were reports that Rick Hendrick considered swapping crew chiefs Eury Jr and Gustafson. Those reports were later denied. But, if true, that indicates that Hendrick thought that Gustafson would be a good fit for Earnhardt Jr — at least good enough to consider the move.

Gustafson and Martin turned their season around and won some races, and contended for a championship. That made it harder for Hendrick to justify the switch. Why break up a winning team that is performing?

Perhaps, with the addition of Kahne, Hendrick will be given the opportunity to consider moving Gustafson to the No. 88 team and Earnhardt Jr. In order for that to happen, I think Hendrick would make a play for Kenny Francis, Kahne’s crew chief during his entire Sprint Cup career.

I haven’t been given any reason to believe that Francis and Kahne have no desire to work together anymore. And, it may be more appealing for Hendrick to bring Francis on board so he doesn’t affect the chemistry. He’s also done it before with Earnhardt Jr and Eury Jr.

That would also mean that Lance McGrew would return to his previous role in the research and development department. I don’t think — of course I don’t have insider knowledge — that McGrew would mind stepping out of the crew chief role. He seemed to be willing to accept the role as Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief more because Hendrick asked rather than because of a genuine interest.

So I can’t imagine that McGrew would have a problem with stepping down. Then again, I don’t really know that for sure.

Another, less likely scenario is Tony Eury Jr becoming Kahne’s crew chief. I highly doubt this is likely, but about a month ago we never would have believed Kahne would be driving a HMS Chevy. So, you just never know.

I am not necessarily buying [Dale Earnhardt Jr's] comments after the race about finally getting a car built like teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. Surely it wouldn’t take Hendrick Motorsports that long to give him what the other three have.  

I don’t think Dale Jr was making a comment about Rick Hendrick or HMS. I think his comment was directed at how Tony Eury Jr built cars versus how Lance McGrew builds them.

Tony Eury Jr blamed the media for placing unrealistic expectations on the team, which he thinks ultimately led to his demise. I’m not going to spend time debating whether or not I thought Eury’s dismissal was warranted. That’s irrelevant.

The fact is that McGrew is Jr’s crew chief and the two of them together have to figure out how to improve on-track performance.
 
Back when Dale Jr joined Hendrick Motorsports, he was strong out of the gate, winning the Bud Shootout and one of the Gatorade Duels. That set the bar pretty high for the season in which his only win came on a fuel mileage gamble. Last year, Jr ran consistently in the top 10 and top 5, only to fall during the Chase.

His slide continued this season, fueled by driver mistakes and ill-handling cars. Rick Hendrick was forced to make a move to improve the team.

Much like the way he came out of the gate in the 2008 season, Jr. finished 12th in his first race with McGrew. This wasn’t as big of an achievement as winning those first two non-points-paying races in 2008, but it was a considerable improvement over how he had been running.

Again, the bar was set high (or perhaps just higher than it should have been). If you look back at the statistics, Tony Eury Sr was the crew chief for Dale Jr during the bulk of his wins. Eury Jr and Dale Jr teamed up for two wins in nearly four years together.
 
The first seven races in which Eury Jr served as crew chief, Dale Jr has an average finish of 25th. In the last seven races Eury Jr served as crew chief, Dale Jr had an average finish of 22nd. In McGrew’s first seven races, Dale Jr has an average finish of 21st.

So, to think McGrew was going to come in and turn the No. 88 into an instant winner would have been ridiculous. The problem is that most fans believed that would be the case. Some media members fueled the fire too, indicating that the change would mean an improvement because the problem was not Dale Jr.

I don’t think the problem is Dale Jr… completely, anyway. I still believe the problem is communication, which is partly Dale Jr’s responsibility and partly the crew cheif’s responsibility. Dale Jr and Eury Jr could not communicate. Both have hot tempers and strong wills, meaning they couldn’t coexist for the greater good. That’s why Eury Jr was not Dale Jr’s crew chief at the start of the 2005 season. And, after four tumultuous years, they two were forced to part ways.

The problem with McGrew is that he and Dale Jr are still figuring out their communication. It could take a full season before both are fully comfortable. Sure, there are cases where the crew chief and driver hit it off instantaneously. Look at Kyle Busch and Steve Addington or Mark Martin and Alan Gustafson. But, chemistry/communication is key.

To give an example of how important it is, Gustafson and Busch teamed up to win four races in three years together. Martin and Gustafson have won four so far this season. The difference? Chemistry.

I don’t mean to give Dale Jr a pass. We know there’s pressure when you’re as popular as he is, and truth be told, he probably never will live up to the expectations placed on him. That doesn’t mean he has no talent, and is not capable of winning races or a championship. It just means that with the Earnhardt name comes the burden of seven championships.
 
But for right now, we have no idea what the No. 88 team is capable of, as they go through this transition. It could take a while for this team to figure things out, and time will ultimately tell whether or not they do. In the meantime, don’t expect Dale Jr to win. Don’t expect Dale Jr to make the Chase. All we should expect from Dale Jr is that he keeps working with McGrew to get things headed in the right direction.