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After several bad pit stops during the Texas race led to Chad Knaus replacing his own pit crew with that of the 24, Hendrick Motorsports announced today that the switch is now permanent.  The seven over-the-wall guys for the 24 will pit the 48 for Phoenix and Homestead, and vice versa.

Now, being a tire changer myself, I have to say that I feel for guys when they get the boot.  In my own career I’ve not only had bad races, but I also know what it feels like to be replaced.  And trust me, it really sucks.  What we always have to remember though, is that at the end of the day, this is a business, and sometimes changes are warranted.

In the case of the 48, pit stops have often been a weakness this season.  And with a championship on the line, these teams must pull out all the stops.  It certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen an entire crew replaced (see Kevin Harvick), but it is definitely the first time we’ve seen one replaced mid-race.  It also isn’t uncommon for teams to change one piece, say a changer or carrier, but again, it usually doesn’t happen mid-race.

Opportunities to score valuable points are running out, and in defense of Knaus and Johnson, they needed better than they were getting.  The 24 bunch was available because of the wreck with Burton, so the swap was made.  I do want to point out though, that if Gordon doesn’t get wrecked, this change probably never happens.  It would be extremely disruptive to both teams to try and swap while the race was going on.  And especially if Jeff Gordon was in contention for the win, there is no way Steve Letarte or Gordon sign off on such a change.  That isn’t to say that it wouldn’t have happened on Monday anyway, but definitely not during the race.

Once the change was made, it was only a matter of time before HMS announced the swap was permanent.  I’m not sure those seven guys could have come back to the 48 and been able to do the job after being replaced, and the powers that be at Hendrick seem to understand that.

While I do believe the 24 crew to be a bit stronger then the 48, let’s not get too down on that bunch.  Gordon’s chances at winning a race are certainly not in jeopardy now because he has the 48 crew.  Let’s remember that this is pretty much the same pit crew that Johnson was able to win championships with in both 2008 and 2009.  They must be doing something right.

At the end of the day, NASCAR is a performance based business.  If those of us who are in these positions come to a point where our performance just isn’t up to par, we can be sure that changes will be made.  There is just too much at stake.  I don’t know for certain what the future holds for the pit crews at Hendrick Motorsports, but don’t be surprised if we see some big changes and new faces for 2011.

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What we saw on Sunday is why we continue to watch this sport. There were a record number of leaders, beating and banging, pit road missteps, triumphs, heartbreak, fights and fingers. That was a race I don’t think anyone will soon forget.

Don’t Mess with NASCAR

Kyle Busch learned this lesson Sunday. After getting spun early in the race, Busch was penalized for speeding on pit road. Angry about the penalty Kyle displayed his displeasure to the official assigned to their stall with a middle finger. After exiting pit road NASCAR again called Kyle down to serve a two lap penalty for his trangression.

The moral of the story? You may not like what NASCAR does, but don’t disrespect them. On a side note, I have to say the video from the incident was pretty entertaining. Kyle may not be your favorite driver, but you have to admit, he fills his role very well.

There’s a Fight on The Backstretch!

Of all the guys to get in a fight, those were probably the last two I would have named. Still, that was some emotion like we haven’t seen in a while.

As Jeff Gordon launched toward Jeff Burton all I could think was, “there’s a fight on the backstretch!” And there was.

The impetus for this fight may or may not have been accidental. Clearly some tempers flared prior to the incident, but Jeff Burton isn’t the kind of guy to end someone elses day and his own. Either way, that was entertaining.

The Pit Crew Change Heard Round the World

The #48 pit crew had a bad day… a very bad day. Add to their screw-ups on pit road the embarrassment of getting yanked off the job in the middle of the race in front of millions of people. I’d be willing to bet that was an uncomfortable flight home.

Unfortunately, this is a performance based business and if your driver is in the hunt for a championship, there is zero room for error. They learned that the hard way today. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are changes to that crew before next weekend.

Taking the Lead

Jimmie Johnson may have finally found a team as good as his. While Kevin Harvick continues his very consistent run, Denny Hamlin and his team are just that much better right now. Hamlin’s main obstacle is Gibbs’ spotty reliabilty. Hopefully, for his sake, it doesn’t bite him in his quest to bring Joe Gibbs his fourth championship.

The long and short of it is, we have got a heck of a points race headed into the final two weeks.

A Flying Brakepad?

To top off a very bizarre race, apparently a brake pad from one of the cars was somehow shot into the tempered glass window of Texas’ Speedway Club. Two people were injured, thankfully the injuries weren’t life threatening.

Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves about the weekend’s events.

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After all the talk leading up to this weekend about Talladega being a wild card race (yes, I’m guilty too), it turned out to be quite the opposite.  Instead of being a track where championship hopefuls have their chances dashed away with one wrong move and “the big one,” all we’ve come out the other side with is a Chase that is even tighter.

Following the race on Sunday, our top three Chasers are now only separated by 38 points.  Jimmie Johnson leads Denny Hamlin by 14 points, and Kevin Harvick is another 24 back.  Heading into the final three races of 2010, the championship is still completely up for grabs.

During the race, Johnson and Hamlin dropped to the back and were hoping to ride out the madness until the very end.  The “riding around in the back all race” strategy worked for Johnson, but it nearly bit Hamlin.  While attempting to avoid the front of the pack, Hamlin lost the lead draft and went a lap down.  He was able to get a lucky dog late in the race, and came back to finish ninth.

Instead of running in the back like his fellow Chasers, Harvick chose to run in the pack all race long.  His wreck with Marcos Ambrose late in the race though showed that no strategy is safe at Talladega.  Good work by his crew, and a crazy finish saw Harvick finish a close second to teammate Clint Bowyer.

Looking at each driver’s career statistics at the three remaining tracks, it would appear that with the exception of Johnson at Phoenix, none of the three have a real discernible advantage.  The #48 has been awesome at Phoenix, with no finishes outside the top four in their last eight starts (including four wins), but they have had their struggles at Texas and Homestead.  And Harvick and Hamlin have both proven they are capable of winning at any of these three tracks.

Minimizing any mistakes is obviously going to be the key over the final three races.  Two of our three contenders had some troubles on Sunday, but they were both able to overcome them.  As the pressure mounts, who will blink first?

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