Switch crews in the middle of a race????

[cbreez99]

Knaus and Hendrick....class move...maybe the next race the regular crew will mistakenly have a loose lug nut...Total BS if I were on that crew.

That move will haunt them and will seal the championship for Hamlin. Karma

[hdolan]

Although it was, in my opinion, the wrong move in the long run, I think the 48 will prevail...it would not surprise me to see the 24 crew finish out...

[atrackforumfan]

I don't think the switch on Sunday is that big a deal, compared to the alternatives.

If Knaus felt this strongly about his crew's performance on Sunday, he certainly was going to hurt their feelings on Monday anyway.

[Ann Dretti]

Pretty odd. Gotta admit though that Denny pitting in front of the 48 may have messed with them a little.

[NoviVespa]

Pretty odd. Gotta admit though that Denny pitting in front of the 48 may have messed with them a little.

I sort of remember last year, Jimmie Johnson stopping short in his pit on every pit stop. The car behind him had trouble getting out of his pit every time. It was intentional, he pitted with almost the right rear outside the box.

[mdkiel]

Gotta wonder what this will do to the confidence of the JJ crew, not to mention team chemistry, comaraderie, morale, etc. From a distance to me it looks like a disasterous move -- but Knaus and JJ a multi-champions so I guess they know a little more than me.

:izod2

[R22]

hope someone points this out to Jerry Jones, owner of the dallas cowgirls... change the crew Jerry!!!

[GeekSpeed]

It was the right call. Gordon's team has been good all year, Johnson's team was having problems today, and Gordon was out of the race. They all work for the same team.

Sure, it's a kick in the teeth for Johnson's team. But, frankly, tearing into them on Monday doesn't help if it costs the team 10 positions on track. If these pit crew guys have an ounce of testosterone in their bodies, they'll stand up, admit their failures, and work twice as hard to make sure they get to pit the 28 car next week. They are in a competitive business where mistakes are measured in great detail and can cost a lot of money when positions are lost on track, if races are lost, or worse, if championships are lost. There are 20 guys standing in line wanting to do what these guys do and ownership and management know that. Everyone is allowed to have a bad day. Even Stanley Cup winning goalies get pulled every now and then. It doesn't mean you lose your job. But it might if you don't correct the action and pull your performance back to the level it needs to be to win.

Good for Hendrick and Knaus. This shows that they are working for this Championship. It's a tough call but it was a necessary one.

[3Paige14]

I think it's a hit to the crew's confidence. Make a few mistakes and then get replaced? I don't know how this will go over in the long run, but it just doesn't seem right.

Still think Denny has the biggest shot at the title. Of the three was the most cool under pressure.

[Kevracer]

Next up: picking fans out of the stands to replace the original crew. "Hey you, with the 48 shirt; can you change tires? How 'bout your buddy. think he can lift a full gas can?"

[atrackforumfan]

Confidence? The crew can't be feeling good about the way they were performing anyway. If they have a fundamental problem, they aren't going to be able to fix it on the spot. They can only fix that during the week.

[lkchris]

Lots of quarterbacks, for example, have been benched at some point in their career and it didn't emotionally scar them for life.

Folks on forums seem always always always looking for something to criticize--nothing to see here.

[mdkiel]

Folks on forums seem always always always looking for something to criticize--nothing to see here.

Sometimes that's true, I don't think so in this case. You don't think it's a legit topic of discussion that pulling the pit crew in the middle of the race might be a real blow to their confidence? And for the sake of discussion, there's been some QB's who never recovered from being benched.

[11rowsof3]

Sometimes that's true, I don't think so in this case. You don't think it's a legit topic of discussion that pulling the pit crew in the middle of the race might be a real blow to their confidence? And for the sake of discussion, there's been some QB's who never recovered from being benched.

I agree. I think this might have really played mind-games with the entire Hendrick team. "Wow, I'm a mistake away from being fired.. and in this economy"... Made them seem desperate, but we'll see. Rick knows what he is doing obviously.

[StatMan]

I think it's a hit to the crew's confidence.

If they were doing poorly, and their owner found some better guys to do the job for one race, and this motivates them to go back and do even worse the next week, then they are stupid. I doubt that's what happens.