Anthony Eury Jr. (born January 3, 1973) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

crew chief who works for

The Money Team Racing The Money Team Racing, also known as TMT Racing, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by former professional boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and they currently field the No. 5 ...

as the crew chief of their No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

, driven by

Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet C ...

. He is also the co-owner of

Fury Race Cars Fury Race Cars, officially styled as FURY Race Cars, is an American race car manufacturer and professional late model and stock car racing team. The company was founded in 2016 by Darius Grala, Tony Eury Jr. and Jeff Fultz, all championship-winn ...

, a prominent chassis builder in

late model racing A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

Early life

Eury was born into a racing family in

Kannapolis, North Carolina Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

. His family lived near the Earnhardts north of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and the heads of both families,

Ralph Earnhardt Ralph Lee Earnhardt (February 23, 1928 – September 26, 1973) was an American stock car racer. He was the father of 7 time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, grandfather of Kerry Earnhardt, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Dale Earnhardt Jr., a ...

and Ralph Eury, were close friends. Tony Eury Jr. is the son of Tony Eury Sr. and Sandra Gee, daughter of famed engine builder Robert Gee.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driv ...

married Sandra's sister Brenda, mother of

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

Despite both marriages ending in divorce, the cousins grew up together.

Racing career

Eury worked with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., from 1991 to 2007. In 1993, he became the

car chief In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...

(and one of the tire changers) for

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

's NASCAR

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

team, working under his father, crew chief Tony Eury Sr. In the 2004, 2006, and 2008 seasons, Eury helped Dale Earnhardt Jr. get into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and challenge for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. The 2004 season began with a win at the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

, the first of 6 wins that season. In 2008, he began his crew chief career with Hendrick Motorsports, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. began racing for

Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949), nicknamed "Mr. H", is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Au ...

. After a poor showing in the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, some began to talk of Eury's possible firing and that he would be replaced by Ron Malec, who was the car chief for Hendrick teammate

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

's No. 48 car. On May 28, 2009,

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...

announced that Eury Jr. would be demoted to crew chief the team's part-time R&D car, the No. 25, driven by

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...

, replacing

Lance McGrew Lance McGrew is a former crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports and currently works in their research and development division. Early years Lance McGrew’s passion for racing started when he just a kid growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a ...

, who switched jobs with Eury Jr. and became Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Eury Jr. became a crew chief for Earnhardt Jr.'s

JR Motorsports JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Par ...

team in the

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, crew chiefing the team's No. 7 car, driven by

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

driver

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman ...

as well as other drivers that year and in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Patrick left IndyCar to drive the car full-time with Eury Jr. as her crew chief for most of the season until he was released from the team before the race at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in September. Eury Jr. was replaced by Ryan Pemberton, who was hired to be the team's new competition director, replacing his father Tony Eury Sr. who was also released from JRM, as well as the interim crew chief for Patrick's No. 7 car. On December 10, 2012, Eury Jr. was hired by

Swan Racing Swan Racing was a stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series until the 2014 season. The team was founded as Inception Motorsports which fielded a single No. 30 team in the Cup Series in 2011 and 2012 before being purchase ...

(previously Inception Motorsports) as the crew chief for

David Stremme David Andrew Stremme (born June 19, 1977) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Early career Stremme was born in South Bend, Indiana. His racing roots can be traced back to Midwestern short track racing, where he followed in the f ...

's No. 30 car in the Sprint Cup Series, replacing Steven Lane. In 2018, Eury Jr. was hired by

Premium Motorsports Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-time for Brennan Poole, and the No. 27 Cam ...

to serve as the crew chief for their No. 7 car in the

when it was driven by Danica Patrick in her final NASCAR race. He only crew chiefed the car in that race in order to reunite with Patrick, as he was her crew chief at JR Motorsports from 2010 to 2012 in what was then known as the Nationwide Series. In 2020, Eury Jr. was the crew chief for

Natalie Decker Natalie Marie Decker (born June 25, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Supra for Reaume Brothers Racing, the No. 28 Ford Mustang for RSS Ra ...

and the

Ken Schrader Racing Ken Schrader Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, fielding the No. 52 for Natalie Decker. The team is owned by longtime NASCAR driver Ken Schrader. Over the years, Schra ...

No. 52 car in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

season-opener at Daytona, fielded in a collaboration with Fury Race Cars. In 2022, Eury Jr. returned to NASCAR again and became the crew chief for the new Money Team's No. 50 car driven by

Kaz Grala Kaz Edward Grala ( ; born December 29, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. The Boston native is the youngest NASCAR ...

, the son of

Darius Grala Darius Grala (born July 7, 1964 in Słupsk, Poland) is an endurance sports car racing driver. He is currently racing in North America and living in the United States. In 2007, Grala was one of the founding instructors for Supercar Life. In 200 ...

, one of the other co-owners of Fury Race Cars. On February 23, 2022, Eury was suspended for four races after the No. 50 lost a wheel during the

2022 Daytona 500 The 2022 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and the 64th running of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a asphalt superspeedwa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eury, Tony Jr. 1973 births Living people NASCAR crew chiefs People from Kannapolis, North Carolina