[TomSportsHack]

One of the basic unwritten rules of NASCAR: The way to judge a crew chief is by how that crew chief elevates his driver. Jimmy Johnson without Chad Knaus is a so-so driver, certainly not the three-time defending champion.

I'm not even sure they were practicing pit stops at the 88 shop for the first part of the season. That also goes back to the crew chief.

This is not solely a driver problem, although I do think Dale Jr. has too many non-racing commitments¹. This is primarily a preparation and setup problem. That goes back to the fat guy atop the toolbox calling the shots.

Dale Jr. never should have insisted that Hendrick hire Eury Jr. as the 88's crew chief. He got his way and it's not working out. Time to change.

¹Which he's working on reducing.