The ties that drive

Sporting News, The, August 6, 2001 by Lee Spencer

"At that age, we were all too young to understand what we understand today," Kelley says. "Now I wish we could go back in time and spend the time we missed as kids. We are really close now, and that's awesome. We probably act a little more childish trying to make up for lost memories and times."

Kelley, now a vice president for Action Performance/Sports Image, says she was the daredevil of the family, the one who loved to race anything from motorcycles to horses on the farm.

"Dad wasn't prepared to run us in late models without sponsors, and since both Kerry and Dale Jr. worked around cars and in the shops, I was kind of the odd man out," Kelley says. "As a teenager, I didn't think Dale Jr. would be a racer. He spent a lot of time playing with matchbox cars, but he was not aggressive ... and didn't take risks.

"I remember I wrecked my Volkswagen on the farm, smashing the passenger door into the tree. Dale Jr. was with me and vowed he would never ride with me again."

Tony Eury Sr.'s recollection of Junior at 20 was that he had the mind and maturity of a 14-year-old. But Eury was up for the challenge when Dale Earnhardt asked if he could turn Junior into a driver. A year later, in 1996 at 21 years old, Junior made his Busch Series debut at Myrtle Beach. When it came time to hire a driver full time for the car for 1998, Eury told Earnhardt, "Why not invest the money in your own kid?"

"Junior wasn't doing well in late models because Dale made him use his own money and get his own sponsors just like he had to do, and Junior was struggling," Eury says. "Dale wouldn't give it to them. But there really wasn't anyone I would have preferred putting in the car at that time."

Junior won the first of his two Busch Series titles in 1998 and slowly was achieving the goal he really coveted: gaining his father's respect.

"I was having fun driving late-model cars," Junior says. "Just messing around. When I started running Busch, I got serious. Everything about that was cool. Sure, I was seeking my father's approval. I wanted to make him proud. I'd been trying to do that all my life.

"We had (Ron) Hornaday winning truck championships, and I was winning in Busch, bringing home trophies. It made me feel important."

Junior's move to Winston Cup in 2000 was considered a success, with two wins and a 16th-place finish in points, but the team experienced turbulence behind the scenes. Tony Eury Jr., the team's car chief, and Junior were fighting. Eury Sr. says the problem was the Juniors' lack of maturity. The loss of Earnhardt rocked the organization, but it brought the team closer together.

Jimmy Spencer, known as"Mr. Excitement" because of his aggressive driving style, remembers some advice Dale Earnhardt gave Junior, a Winston Cup rookie at the time. Junior was riding Spencer's tail with 10 laps to go at Las Vegas, and Earnhardt came on the radio: "There are two people you don't mess with on the track. Jimmy Spencer is one of them, and I don't have to tell you who the second one is."