Feud Brewing Atop The Box?

Mike Ford, crew chief of the No. 11 team, had some interesting things to say about No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus’ decision to swap pit crews mid-race at Texas: “I think it was kind of a desperation move. But it’s something that Jimmie [Johnson], Chad and Rick [Hendrick] needed to do if they wanted to win a championship because they just took their team out of it. They removed their team. Their team got them to this point and they pulled them out, so this is more about trying to win a championship for the company and not the team.”

Knaus replaced the usual No. 48 crew with the No. 24 team of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon during Sunday’s race. It was a move that got some attention, to say the least.

On Monday, Hendrick Motorsports announced the switch would extend to the final two races of the season. The 24 and 48 over-the-wall crews will trade teams at Phoenix this weekend and Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks