Pit Wars!

A long time ago, at a race far, far away... Pit Wars!

It's the period of NASCAR’s Chase. Rebel drivers

(Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin), striking from a hidden base,

have won their first victories against the evil Galactic Empire of Hendrick

Motorsports. During the most recent races, Rebel spies managed to devise a

plan to intimidate the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR mani-

pulator, Chad Knaus, an unadulterated crew chief with enough power to

destroy an opponent’s entire racing season. Pursued by the Empire's

sinister agent, Darth Johnson, Prince Luke Hamlin and Prince Hans

Harvick race home aboard their Toyota and Chevrolet starships,

custodians of the plans that can save their people and

restore freedom to NASCAR...

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It all started during the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in mid-October. Kevin Harvick was on the radio chastising his pit crew after losing track position over and over again. In response, Richard Childress moved Clint Bowyer's over-the-wall crew to Harvick's pit. Two races later Harvick was second to Bowyer at Talladega...

Next it was Denny Hamlin's crew chief Mike Ford who apparently made a great call when it came time to choose which pit stall to use at Texas. Thinking if Chase leader Jimmie Johnson couldn't be corrupted, maybe Chad Knaus and the 48's crew could be thrown off somehow. Ford opted to park his team right in front of the four time Sprint Cup champion's pit. Several subpar pit stops cost the Hendrick Motorsports' Chevrolet to the point that when the opportunity came up, Chad switched to Jeff Gordon's over-the-wall crew of tire changers and fuelers. This while Hamlin's crew performed flawlessly allowing him to hold on for the victory that gave him the point leadership over Jimmie Johnson.

Then came the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International last Sunday. Prior to the race and amid an almost constant buzz about Ford's different twist to pit strategy, these strategic occurances prompted some prodding from NASCAR's media that in turn influenced Hamlin's crew chief to open up a little more. The next thing we hear is Mike Ford actually talking smack about Hendrick Motorsports.

In defense of his crew switch in mid-race, Knaus stated, "I don't think people understand it's not an easy decision," the crew chief said Tuesday (November 8th), "There are emotions involved. We love our guys. We eat, sleep, drink with them. We win with them and we lose with them. But ultimately it is bigger than seven guys. We are 520-people strong here (at Hendrick Motorsports)."

Now… Check out this Knaus statement from the same interview: "I hate to say this as bluntly as it is, but it's like changing a spring or changing a shock," he said. "You have to put the best components together to try to win the championship. Unfortunately, we're not in the situation where (Gordon) can win the championship right now from this building, and that's what it's about — this building."

(Sidelight - Ya know… If it’s simply a question of plugging the right components in, then why isn’t Knaus opting for Dale Earnhardt’s 88 pit crew? Aren’t they rated the number one pit crew by NASCAR’s very knowledgeable fans?)

So here we are late in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International last Sunday and a stream of cars heads into the pits for tires and fuel. Kevin Harvick hurriedly left minus one dropped lug nut. By the time he repitted and got back out on the track that lug nut had cost him 14 places from 5th to 19th with the remaining race laps dwindling down. Once again a pit crew mistake looked like it would undo the 29 car. Harvick was quoted after the race, "I wasn't really mad. I was just disappointed because I thought that it all had come out from underneath us. But in the end, our mistake is the thing that gained us ground today." Do you buy that?

Then the last caution of the race put the 29 back in the pits for a splash of gas. This seemingly terrible set of circumstances actually worked to Harvick's favor. Suddenly he had enough fuel and was driving on good tires. So Knaus has Johnson driving to conserve fuel, Harvick is furiously making up track position and all the while Hamlin's up on the wheel racing with Carl Edwards. It's a long green flag run heading for the checkered flag when Denny Hamlin, looking like a winner out in front of Carl Edwards, is suddenly very conscious of the one question remaining to be answered; Who does and who doesn't have enough fuel to finish out the run without pitting? It soon becomes obvious that Denny's not going to make it. While he used up his fuel racing with Edwards, Denny's two closest Chase competitors, one as a result of good advice from his crew chief and the other as the result of a set of circumstances, positioned themselves to take advantage. After all the smack talk out of Ford, it turned out to be his lack of good communication with his driver that cost the 11 team several points and the 2010 Sprint Cup is still up for grabs.

Pit Wars!

On to Homestead...