Of all the stories surrounding the 50th Daytona 500, the most compelling coming in was Dale Earnhardt Junior's switch to the Hendrick Motorsports Dream Team. The jump, both fans and media reasoned, would rejuvenate Dale's career and get him back in Victory Lane for the first time in 60-plus races.

So when Earnhardt fought his way to the front of the pack, it seemed Destiny had done her job and was clocking out for the day, content to watch the race with the rest of us. But Destiny apparently forgot to text crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who made the curious decision to keep Dale on the track while the rest of the field pitted, not once but twice. Fans howled, broadcasters and media were stunned, and even Dale had a few choice words of his own. "I wish I knew what you know," Y! Sports' Bob Margolis reported Junior was saying to Eury on the radio.

Without fresh tires, Junior faded, unable to hang with Tony Stewart, the Busch brothers, and eventual winner Ryan Newman. And fans wanted Eury's jowls on a plate.

After the race, Junior was wise enough to be gracious and shoulder the defeat himself:

"I made the wrong choices," he said. "Just made poor choices."

He brushed off the decision to stay out and not taking new tires late in the race.

"It wasn't the tires; we had good grip at the end," he said, defending his crew chief's decision not to pit for new tires when the rest of the leaders did.

He was more upset with not making runs at the right time and getting stuck behind cars at the worst possible moment.

As it turned out, the multiple cautions at the end of the race kept Junior at least on the lead lap and in the Top 10. But it was a curious strategy; expect all eyes to be on Eury in Folsom this weekend.