THE DEMISE OF THE 48 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gregg52]

I believe Knaus's arrogance will now be the end of the 48 GREAT era !!!!!!

Those guys they switched will all be gone over the winter I think !

One packed up Sunday

They will find places where they are appreciated

I think Knaus is top of the line crew chief but I think he did himself in Sunday

I saw an interveiw Sun...he said some guys are afraid to come to work there \

cuz they dont think they can cut it..also in that peice it showed him saying

We were spose to leave at 6:10 its now 6:23..I bet some eyes rolled when they heard that...lol

Well he just raised the bar now and he'll struggle to get guys

I've heard comments about Knaus's better than thou attitude

Even himself have said that

I see that team kinda dismantleing over the winter

Just my opinion...when you are at the top that long there is no to go but down ..i dont think he can handle that!

[Sifty]

I dont think they will have any problem finding guys to come to work for the 48 team.

It would seem as they are #1 in the game and who would not want to work for a proven winner.

Sifty

[harvey lee]

The 48 team expects excellence and Chad has said many will not even try to get on their team as they look for perfection.

They will have no issues finding any help if needed. Many pit guys look for a chance at getting on a winning team and then to also work on a Hendrick team would be a dream for most.

I see no issues at all.

They win for a reason and it is not by using guys who only put out 90-95%.

One cannot win with a poor crew or a slow one either.

Go Jimmy & Chad.

[LMITOUT]

Knaus' arrogance has finally caught up with him.

[gregg52]

time well tell

i remember j roush switchin cars the last race to get get m martin

a championship ship.it was a disaster

I think stick with what got you there

as i said above there will be guys not returning to that team

and their decision not knauses

sure he will get guys cuz it is hendricks but they will come and go

I believe the dynstacy is coming apart

and when you are at the top that long and things start coming apart

so begins the the finger pointing

and if jimmy and chad get to wondering bout each other

[harvey lee]

Knaus' arrogance has finally caught up with him.

Yep and it seems they just keep on winning. If that's arrogance, then I would guess every crew chief needs to be.

They are one of the best teams ever and due to the lackluster performance of a few crew members, Chad is now arrogant. What a joke.

I am lost at how his so called arrogance has caught up with him. How or what has caught up with him? He is still the crew chief and there is no way Rick would fire him.

You are way out in left field Lmit. No, you are not even in the ball park.

[LMITOUT]

Knaus has "jumped the shark". He is known as a smart guy in the garage but he's finally out thought himself with his latest antics. Desperate I guess...

[gregg52]

[quote=harvey leeYep and it seems they just keep on winning. .

[Big Tom]

Go Hamlin!!!

[spearchucker]

Whats wrong with a crew chief expecting guys to do their job? You are paid to come through in the playoffs. No different that any other sport. You screw up, you get benched for a while.

[Johnsonator]

I really think that in the long run Chad would have been better off sticking with his guys and pumping them up a little bit instead of swaping them out, but that is just me.I am not ready to say that the 48 has completely fallen apart and is done but they are certainly off a tick. Anyway I am liking it and for the sports sake I hope it is either Hamlin or Harvick on the podium at Homestead!

[Harmonica Bear]

+1

[Juneau4]

This week will tell the story as to is right.

[gregg52]

48 wins the points what crew goes to the banquet???????

i agree i dont think the 48 has won his last race by no means

but i think theres alittle troulbe in paradise

plus i think other teams are just catching up or gettin better

as they go

seems the ford camp is coming back alive

[harvey lee]

I guess it's no different than a football team. If the O line cannot protect the QB, then players have to be changed for the good of the team.

I don't know what else a great team would do that has a desire to be a winner. JJ may not win it all but by no means is that team done for.

By the way, it looks like ol JJ gained a few more points the last race.

It looked like John Force was not going to win another championship but in the last race, guess what, the more expierenced team won and Big John has another Gold Wally.

The Ford's have a ways to go.

I would also like to see Harvick win it but as far as Hamlin, he is a cry baby, no thank you.

In regards to the subject of this thread, it's laughable.

[Uncle Bill]

Lack of energy leads to pit crew change for Johnson's team; And answers to questions about move

A lot of questions about Jeff Gordon's pit crew moving over to pit Jimmie Johnson's team during Sunday's race at Texas and how Gordon's group will pit Johnson's car the final two races of the season.

So with help from Chad Knaus, Steve Letarte and Marshall Carlson, president of Hendrick Motorsports, hopefully this helps answer some of the questions you have about the move:

# Why was the move made?

Chad Kanus: "There's a lot of wear and tear on people emotionally. I think that the grind maybe got to them just a little bit. That's the way it is. I'm not saying the 24 is our bullpen, but this is a good way to introduce some new energy into both teams right now, and I think it will spark some cool things.''

Later, Chad said; "What everybody perceives as a negative, we kind of take as a challenge. This is a positive thing. It's a very positive thing for this team and this organization to be able to make this switch seamlessly and breathe some new fire and some new energy into this and get these guys going out there.''

WHAT TO READ INTO THIS: It was interesting how during the 15 minutes I was around Chad on Tuesday that he talked about energy (or lack of it with the former 48 group) and at one point talked about the reaction of Johnson's former group in a Monday meeting at the shop discussing the change. Knaus said of their reaction: "I hadn't seen a light in the 48 guys like that in a while ...''

That's telling. There's no doubt that Johnson's group had been struggling on pit road and was not as dominant as it once had been. Remember, at the beginning of the championship, car owner Rick Hendrick had said he thought the championship would come down to a restart -- that things could be that close. Well, that just shows how the little things might add up. If you keep losing spots on pit road, it just makes it more challenging to win a title, so in that case, Knaus' call was an easy one to make no matter the issue of upsetting the feelings of people. As Knaus said to me Sunday and again on Tuesday: "This is a performance-based industry. If you don't win races as a crew chief, you get replaced, If you don't win races as a driver, you're looking for a new ride. Pit crew members go through the same things.''

# How long has this idea of changing pit crews been floating around? Why wasn't this move done sooner even when Johnson was leading the points?

Chad Knaus: "It's difficult to do that, it's just as difficult as you guys know it is. It is hard when you're dealing with people and teammates. How do you do that to guys that have been on your team so long? You have to take all that into consideration and that's why we didn't say, this one guy we're taking you off and we're putting this other guy in. We're doing this as a team or a goup. It's difficult to do that.

Marshall Carlson: "There hasn't been that discussion (of changing pit crews earlier) or that second-guessing. The crew chiefs have the capability and the authority to field the crew that's best set to pit the car. They do that every week and this mid-race they made a decision and moved forward with it and now Monday they made the decision for the last two races, so we're supportive of that and believe that they, ultimately, are the best qualified at making that decision at any moment.''

WHAT TO READ INTO THIS: One can argue when and how long ago this idea might have developed, but the fact that as long as Jeff Gordon still had a chance to win the title, making such a move likely would have caused more problems than even a championship could have fixed. With Gordon out after his crash, the move by Knaus made sense. His pit crew was losing many spots and that's not going to win a championship. If you work with someone who underperforms at key times, are you going to keep them (if you have that authority?). At some point feelings get pushed aside and you do what's best for the situation. Now, what wouldn't have been surprising is that this idea likely has been around and the thought being if Gordon fell out of title contention this could be a possiblity.

It is interesting to note that even before this that the 48 team didn't take any crew members from Mark Martin's team or Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team. Neither is in the Chase and has nothing to lose by switching crews. Certainly, this leads to a question about the depth at Hendrick Motorsports with its pit crew program. Remember that last year that after a back injury to a tire changer, Johnson's team tried a couple of people in that role late in the season before settling on one. Now, a year ago, Johnson had such a large lead in the points late in the Chase that if he lost any spots on pit road it wasn't as big a concern as it is now where every point appears to be critical and losing even one position on a bad pit stop could be the difference between winning or losing a title.

# So what about Jeff Gordon's team? Isn't he getting an inferior pit crew (switch wouldn't have been made if 48 guys were better)? With it taking so many elements to win a race, hasn't this now hurt his chances of trying to win, thus he could end up with his second winless year in the past three seasons?

Steve Letarte: "I'm proud of this system that we have put in place in the 24 group. I'm very involved in my pit crew. I worked out with the group that I'm going to take over the wall today. So, I don't feel that I'm taking an inferior group to the race track. I feel that our chances to win at Phoenix are as good as they on Monday, as good as they were last Friday (before the switch). So, we're excited to go.''

WHAT TO READ IN THIS ISSUE: Let's be honest, did you expect Letarte to say he had an inferior pit crew? That's what it is until it's proven that these guys are better than the group wtih Johnson's team now. It takes so much to win a race and a pit crew is an element of it. Sure, you can win a race when a pit crew has a bad day, so it's not impossible for Gordon to win either of the next two races. Fact is, Johnson has one win in the last 17 races (that's not entirely the pit crew's fault understand that). Yes, he's had plenty of top fives and such, but for this organization it's about winning championships and winning races. Based on that, they weren't getting it done for the 48 team. While the 48 guys can rally and help lead Jeff Gordon to a win, odds would seem to be against it.

# Denny Hamlin's crew chief, Mike Ford, called Knaus' move one of "desperation'' and how he noticed that Johnson's former pit crew guys were watching Hamlin's team during the race. So what do you say about this Chad?

Chad Knaus: "I don't think it's an act of desperation by any stretch of the imagination. It's an act of what we've got to do to try to win the race. We've got a setup to run at Phoenix that we like a lot. We've got a car that we run a lot at Phoenix. We're not going to run that exact setup if it's not fast. I hate to say it as bluntly as it is, (the pit crew change) is like changing a spring or changing a shock or something like that. You have to put the best components together to try to win the championship.

More Chad : "I don't know if they're (Hamlin's team) a better team by any means. I think it's funny they're more worried about us then they are about themselves. I think I would be worried about the folks on the 11 car than the 48.

Chad on point about Ford said they were trying to win the title for the company instead of the team: "Obviously, that's not a very good team over there. If we start to think about the individuals here, we don't operate as a team.''

WHAT TO READ INTO THIS: Call in mindgames on Mike Ford's part -- think of it as a way to keep the heat off his driver and put it on himself so Hamlin can focus on racing. Also, realize that Knaus is firing back. Of course, Knaus' comments aren't as strong since he's not in a position of power with Johnson trailing Hamlin by 33 points with 2 races to go for the title. Knaus is a master of this stuff, but Ford knew when to jump in and showed that he was a worthy foe last week. Now, we'll see what happens at Phoenix and if the games are more about what happens on the track.

Published on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com)

[harvey lee]

Simply put, Knaus is doing what it will take to hopefully win.

Bottom line-they are winners and they will do what is needed if it has to be. Who can argue that with thier success? This is a business and if one wins, they keep thier sponsors as they get the exposure they are looking for.

[gregg52]

well like i said i dont think there are done winning races

but their domination is shrinking

knaus made a good call sun finishing where they did

coulda been a bad call just as well

nobody said how much gas they had left

but there will still be offers to guys on those crews

and i think they will lose some championship or not

as i said i just think the other teams are catchin up

theres no doubt they had a great team but as in other sports hard too

keep them together forever

it will be easy going foward if they win sun

but if they dont finger pointing will start

i just think its the begining of the end of tho dynasty

if lagano keeps going next yr....

[harvey lee]

JJ may win and he may lose but it will not be the end of the world. NO team can win every season like JJ has and there is always an end to a streak.

The 48 team, win or lose will again next season be one of the very top contenders unless Chad was to leave like Ray did with Gordon.

[Harmonica Bear]

One thing is for sure. This will be the first time in a couple or maybe more years that I am going to watch the final race with some glimmer of excitement.

[jwhjr]

One thing is for sure. This will be the first time in a couple or maybe more years that I am going to watch the final race with some glimmer of excitement.

+1

[harvey lee]

It will be more than likely the most watched race this season.

[gregg52]

i would guess more than just the season

probably in some yrs

[harvey lee]

Knaus' arrogance has finally caught up with him.

Shows what you know about a great crew chief and racing Lmitout.

[LMITOUT]

Oh please.

This "new" pit crew that Knaus so smartly brought in at the last minute of the chase had it's bad stops and if it weren't for Johnson they probably wouldn't be holding the trophy. Johnson bailed him out of a dumb decision.