Thank you Chad Knaus!

I'm saying thank you to Chad why? Read on...

Eury's next task? To help Johnson win at Infineon

DOVER, Del. -- For Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr., it's led to days of heartache and disappointment. But the separation of the No. 88 program's driver and crew chief worked out perfectly for one person.

That would be Chad Knaus, the crew chief for three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, who will turn the No. 48 car over to Eury for a closed two-day test this week at a South Carolina road course. Knaus has a scheduling conflict, but Eury's new role in Hendrick Motorsports' research and development program will free him up to help Johnson get ready for Infineon Raceway.

In his first race with Lance McGrew as crew chief, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to have a rapport he never developed with Tony Eury Jr.

The test at Carolina Motorsports Park, a 2.3-mile circuit located in Kershaw, S.C., had been scheduled for last week, but had to be rescheduled because of rain. Although NASCAR has banned testing on sanctioned tracks for the 2009 season, the sanctioning body has no such sway over an independently owned facility that does not host NASCAR events. Eury and Earnhardt were testing at another road course, Virginia International Raceway, the day before car owner Rick Hendrick announced the changes to their team.

Now, one of Eury's first big jobs in his new role will be to help Johnson win the June 21 event at Sonoma.

"From my standpoint it's actually been a blessing in disguise," Knaus said of Eury's move. "We had some poor weather last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway, so we weren't able to race on Sunday as everybody knows, and then there were some storms that came through South Carolina where we were supposed to be testing on Tuesday and Wednesday. We weren't able to go test, so we postponed the test until this coming week.

"So quite frankly, with Tony taking on a new role in the research and development department, I've called on him to go to South Carolina with the 48 car on Tuesday because I can't attend and help conduct that test and get everything going in the right direction for us there. They just tested last week at VIR, had a productive test, and I think he's going to help contribute, and hopefully we can get to Sonoma and have a better run than we've had in the past. For me, it helped me concentrate on Dover this week, because I didn't have to worry about next week."

Improvement on road courses, where he's never won at NASCAR's highest level, has been one of Johnson's primary goals the past two seasons. He finished 15th last season at Infineon.

"Tony is a great crew chief, a great man, and can come down and conduct the test, run the test, look at the things that Chad wants to work through in his test plan and matrix, and go from there," said Johnson, who won Sunday at Dover International Speedway to record his second victory of the year. "As Chad said, it's taken the pressure off of him to worry about the test and really focus on Dover and focus on Pocono. Testing takes a lot out of the guys and out of the crew chief for sure, because there's a lot of time and effort that goes into those things."

Eury also will work as crew chief in the remaining Sprint Cup events this season for Brad Keselowski, whose next scheduled race is at Chicagoland in July. Hendrick said he has spoken to
Eury daily since the changes on the No. 88 team were announced, and reports that the former crew chief is in good spirits and embracing his new role. The fact that Knaus is leaning on him, he added, speaks volumes.

"That means Chad's got total confidence in him, and that maybe Tony will come up with something that he hadn't thought about and try some things different," Hendrick said. "I've seen Tony really engage with simulation, and with no testing, you've got to depend on that. These crew chiefs have to depend on somebody that has been there and done that. His job now is to help us win a championship. And that's what's he's committed to doing."