On Sunday, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team had one of their worst days as it saw the team fall apart.

In the first seven stops of the race, the no. 48 team lost stops on four of them. Valuable track position was lost and therefore putting Johnson in bad situations.

So once teammate Jeff Gordon was wrecked out of the race, Chad Knaus and Rick Hendrick called the ultimate decision – they fired their pit crew, using Gordon’s for the rest of the race and now, the rest of the year.

The last two stops pulled by Gordon’s pit crew were both sub 12-second stops, allowing Johnson to keep his track position.

“It was just a long day,” Johnson said after the event. “We just gave away so much track position at the beginning and it was tough to get back to where we needed to.”

“It’s a professional sport, and you see it all the time,” Knaus said after the Texas race, as according to NASCAR.com. “If somebody’s out or somebody’s not getting it done, say in football, you get a different receiver in the game or a different quarterback, or whatever it is.

“Unfortunately, our guys weren’t hitting on all eight cylinders [Sunday], and we had an opportunity with the 24 crashing to bring those guys in. They did a good job. They came in and played relief, and I thought they did a good job [Sunday]. It’s unfortunate. I don’t like doing that stuff, nobody does. But it’s kind of your job.”

“I’m okay with it,” front tire changer Mike Lingerfelt said. “We’re all team players.”

Though did Chad Knaus make the right call in bringing Gordon’s crew in?

Let’s take it to the streets….

“I would have tried it, what was the worst that could happen?” Kim Means Velez said. “The 24 pit crew didn’t do any better or had sub-par stops? Their stops were a second and half faster than the 48 crew. That is a lot on time on the track. NASCAR is a team sport, just like football and if the starting quarterback is struggling, they put in the back up quarterback to see what he can do to help the team.

“RCR swapped the entire 29/33 pit crew during the chase, granted it was during a race but sometimes change is needed.

“If anything, I am hoping that it motivates the 48 boys to dig deep and figure out what it is that is missing this season from the previous seasons and why they are four time champs.”

“The crews should not have been swapped,” Cherie Andrews said. “You win and loose as a team.”

“If you’re trying to win a championship, and 2 of your teams are eligible, and one gets mathematically eliminated, then, as a smart team owner, or principal, you dissect, find your weak links and make a fix,” Matthew Vance added. “(The No.) 48 pit crew has been off all season long. (The No.) 24 pit crew has been stellar. It’s not a need for drama that a lot of others, including high media are making it out to be. It’s simple strategy.”

When it comes to the Sprint Cup Series level, you’ve got to be the best of the best to be able to contend and beat other teams who are striving for that level.

Also, it’s a move that the No. 29 team of Kevin Harvick pulled earlier in the Chase as they are using their teammate Clint Bowyer’s pit crew. Clint Bowyer said that he was all for the change as he was all for having at least one of the Richard Childress Racing teams win the championship.

Though even though there are a lot of positives with the change, some people have questioned – what about the moral of the guys?

‎”If you want to win you will do what it takes, what the 48 did was rude but it was a smart idea.” Luke Deakins quoted Smoke Tronix (owner of www.smoketronix.com).

“Congratulations to Chad Knaus on destroying the team moral,” Danny said. “Watch this team fall apart now and lose every nitch they had for awhile and in a sense, lose the championship. Events like this are what start the process of teams breaking apart and failing.”

“Unfortunately the easy negative is a possible feeling of betrayal for the 48 crew which could lead to even worse performances the next two weeks.” Deakins said.

“They have to be big boys, and understand the situation,” Vance said. “Look at the bigger picture, and realize they gotta get better. Use it to be a positive experience. Just practice, practice, practice.”

At first, it may look negative on the guys, however in the end, it may help the team. It’ll show them that they can be replaced and they got to get better as there are other guys out there can do it just as good as them and take over the deal.

However, was taking the whole team out a good move considering that most of the issues surrounded the front end of the car?

“Truthfully, the broken links in the chain are Mike Lingerfelt and one other guy – they are the only ones that should be taken off the team at all or sat aside due to them not living up to their potential and performing.” Danny pointed out via the discussion.

It’d be simple to take Lingerfelt and his partner off the team in the middle of the race as they were the main source of the problem. Through the multiple replays of the issues, they always seemed to be on the front end.

However, if you just take them off and put Jeff’s front tire changer and carrier, you run into a possible “rhythm” problem. By changing the entire group for the time being, it gets rid of that possibility.

Then once their back at the shop, Knaus being the team leader he is, will probably explain why he did it and the reasoning behind.

Then you’ll see changes within the team made to be ready for next year. Chancing a change right now during the pivotal Chase could erase the chances for the No. 48 team completely.

“Exactly – rhythm, these guys are all used to their certain jackmen and what not,” Vance commented. “If the ‘team morale’ is destroyed, then sorry pals, give me a break, this is the big time. A mistake here and there is tolerable, consistent inconsistency is unacceptable. They don’t deserve to be there. You gotta play the game.

“That’s why Chad is so good. If you can’t do the job, and do it right, and be one of the best, he’ll find someone who is. I’m sure we have all worked for someone like that before. I know I have. It sucked at times, but it was also a great experience, because it pushed me to be the best at what I did. They’ll grow, and they’ll learn.”

Plus, it made sense to bring over the No. 24 team as the No. 24 and No. 48 teams work together in the same shop.

“As for the actual switch, this is the time we’ll see how much of a Championship and professional team these guys are,” Pam Woodward Johnson said. “They all work together wearing both car numbers on their shirts every day in the shop and have for years claimed to be one team. So if 248 is one team then it shouldn’t cause an issue; it should cause them all to step up and do what is best for the 248 shop and for HMS as a whole.”

Lastly in this debate, Amy Henderson brings up the point of why not a quicker change.

“My only question was why didn’t they do that weeks ago,” Henderson said. “The pit crew has hurt Johnson week after week and likely cost him the championship with their poor performance during the Chase. They didn’t get him this far, he carried them.”

Could it be that Knaus is feeling the pressure from Denny Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford? Ford purposely picked the stall in front of Knaus to therefore play mind games and were those mind games working?

Ford stated on NASCAR Victory Lane that he saw them make the change and was well aware of it. He said that the No. 11 team consistently had good pit stops all day and saw the No. 48 team struggling. Did Knaus feel desperation as he watched his competitor?

Pam Johnson thinks the lack of change has to do with the team loyalty.

“I’d say one reason they haven’t made a change before is just that team loyalty everyone keeps bringing up,” Johnson said. “The front guys have both been with the team several years so would be some loyalty there to them. And the over the wall crew hasn’t totally sucked all year; just been hit and miss. We don’t know if there have been injuries, technical issues or something else going on.

“Plus while Chad is the ultimate decision maker for things pertaining to the crew there is a pit crew coach too and he sees them everyday, drills them and is there every race so he has to take some responsibility. I would think he has some answering to do also as to what the issues are and why they have continued.”

Another point to consider surrounding the entire pit crew swap is that the No. 29/33 swap didn’t generate a lot of publicity, yet everybody is discussing the No. 24/48 swap. What gives?

For one, the No. 29/33 swap happened in the middle of the week and was seen as an obvious to happen, considering Bowyer was last in points, sitting more than 300 points back.

Though, an even bigger point to consider is that this deals with the four-time defending champions. They are suppose to flawless and be the perfect team, poised for their fifth in a row. As soon as a flaw is seen, it’s going to blown out of proportion to therefore generate publicity for NASCAR and make it seem as if he is beatable, considering most generate that the sport’s ratings are down due to him.

Beyond the pit crew though, is the No. 48 team in trouble?

“Chad himself hasn’t been on his game lately either,” Vance said. “When he said in his interview tonight that ‘making adjustments back there in the pack is so hard to do’, I knew right then there is some trouble. Making those adjustments is what Chad does!

“Now, I’m a big time 48 fan. They are still really good obviously, but they are not their usual. Basically Jimmie ate his wheaties, but did the team pack their lunches, I’m pretty sure Denny would love to ask that question.”

It would seem that way as in years past, the No. 48 would dominate the chase and have a good lead by now. However, in exchange this year, they’ve been running about average with the rest of the pack and therefore now find their title chances in jeopardy.

Also, the No. 48 team started slightly behind this year so are they still seeing the effects? Have they totally not caught up yet?

“This race more than any other showed that HMS, the 48 team and the 248 shop is behind this year,” Pam Johnson said. “Jeff wasn’t running that great again; Jr. wasn’t ever even on the radar; Jimmie’s car was never as good as it could have/should have been even with his 9th place finish and the pit crew issues with our team just topped it off.”

Recall they didn’t start the Chase as the leaders as Harvick and Hamlin led the bunch in.

In the end, it’ll be interesting to see how these last two races play out and to see if the change in pit crews benefits the No. 48 team and brings the championship to the 248 shop.

Hendrick Motorsports has announced that the 24 and 48 crews will trade duties for the remainder of the 2010 season. The change is limited to the seven primary over the wall pit crew members. Additonal team members and personell will not be affected.

This change comes on the heels of the trading of pit crews deep into the race at Texas Motorspeedway on Sunday. This change was brought about by 3 stops by the 48 crew that put the 4 time champion, Jimmie Johnson deep in the field. It appeared that the front tire carrier and right front tire changer struggled on each stop costing Johnson as many as 10 positions on the track. The change though not of unheard of rarely occurs in the middle of a race. It was felt that to perserve Johnson’s Championship hopes the teams should be switched since Jeff Gordon had fallen out of the race after a wreck on the backstretch with Jeff Burton. Chad Knaus, Crew Chief for the 48, stated, “Ultimately the decision is mine” when he was asked who made the decision to change crews.

Gordon’s crew has consistently pulled 12-second stops this year and is leading the fastest pit crew competition sponsored by AT&T.

Chad Knaus and Steve Latarte will address the media Tuesday morning.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is about to close out his 11th year of Sprint Cup competition. He’s consistently one of the most talked about figures in the sport. Speculation about his career, why he runs where he runs, his personal life and his professional decisions are all fair game it seems.

Before we go any further, there’s one thing that I think I should make clear up front: I like Dale Earnhardt Jr. I’ve never met the guy, but he seems likeable enough. He’s about my age and from my part of the world. It’s easy for me to identify with him, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

He’s in an enviable position. He’s one of the most recognizable NASCAR drivers in America, and I’m talking about beyond the sport. People who have never watched a lap of a race can recognize him on sight.

He’s rich.

He probably gets all the free Pepsi products he wants. Amps aren’t cheap. I had to finance the one I’m drinking now while I write this. That’s a pretty good perk right there.

He mingles with celebrities, including Jay-Z, and that guy is married to Beyonce! How’s that for six degrees of separation?

He has his own race team, and employs one of the most talked about Nationwide drivers in recent memory in Danica Patrick.

He’s won 18 more Sprint Cup races than most of us will ever dream of winning, including the Daytona 500.

He’s racing royalty.

Earnhardt Jr. is a treasure in NASCAR. He’s a third generation competitor and that’s become rarer in a sport that has become more diverse in terms of the areas from which the drivers hail.

His father was perhaps the most iconic figure ever to sit behind the wheel of a stock car. He was, and still is, my favorite driver. I still don’t watch a race to this day and not think about him at least once. For me, Big E. is the yardstick by which all other drivers are measured.

For a lot of people, that day the Intimidator passed away was the day they became fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

For now, Dale Jr. is the center of the NASCAR universe. He has been for a while, and I don’t see a way that it will change anytime soon. Year after year he’s the sport’s most popular driver: legions of fans don their hats and t-shirts every weekend to pull for Junior.

That’s just not going to stop, and in fact I suspect his fan base is actually growing, though I’ve never counted the green t-shirts or hats at any of NASCAR’s tracks.

That’s a completely unscientific estimation on my part, but it’s mine and I’m entitled to an observation.

Of all the eyes on Dale Jr., there seems to be three sets of people watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. that most readily make their presence known.

The first set is comprised of his detractors. They just don’t like him. They will point to his statistics; use the mighty accomplishments of his father or another successful driver of the moment as a comparison, and claim with disdain that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would never be in the Sprint Cup Series if not for his last name.

I don’t think that’s true, and if you’re among that group, you’re entitled to your opinion, but there’s a lot of less accomplished drivers who have managed to have long careers in NASCAR. Try to figure out how Ken Schrader kept showing up all those years if I’m wrong.

The second group is Junior Nation. They are his most rabid fans and lately his most staunch defenders. If you’ve ever read an article about him online that allows readers to post comments, ‘Nation is not hard to find.

I can pick them out, you can too, or maybe you’re a part of it. They range from those who feel a paternal draw to him out of watching him experience what he went though in 2001 (which is entirely understandable), to those who feel he has some unbridled talent that is just waiting to be unleashed.

Both are entirely understandable sentiments. The loss he suffered in 2001 was so public and so painful for so many fans that a lot of people felt the need to pull for him as if it were their own child.

Those who feel he has an uncorked talent harbor the belief that you couldn’t have that last name and not carry some of that ability in your DNA. At times, he’s shown flashes of that brilliance.

Then there is the third group: the pragmatists, like me. I don’t dislike him because of some bitterness that he didn’t earn his spot, nor do I own a Dale Jr. T-shirt. Again I like the guy personally, and he’s a great race car driver.

Consider this: After the race at Texas, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits 19th in points.

If you subscribe to the belief that the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series are the best stock car drivers in the world, after Texas using the points one can credibly come to the conclusion that as of November 8, 2010, only 18 men on the face of the earth are better drivers than him.

That’s pretty heady company. There are more than 6.8 billion people on Earth. He’s better than all but 18 of them when it comes to driving a stock car.

The interesting thing though is that even with the credentials he holds, it has seemingly become fashionable to create an alternate history for Junior.

There’s nothing wrong with fans wanting to highlight the performance of their driver. It makes for great debate.

The problem emerges when the alternate narrative of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career gets so ingrained in the NASCAR consciousness that it replaces the reality. The alternate history is dangerous because it has a strange way of distorting our expectation of him.

It’s sort of become a fishing story for racing; a sermon for the converted. A narrative for the ‘Nation: The Ballad of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It goes something like this:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his Sprint Cup Debut in 1999 after much fanfare and success in the Nationwide Series. He made five starts that year, and ran for rookie of the year in 2000.

He did it in style. He won twice that season and competed with his father, who finished second in the final points standings. Some would say later that Dale Sr.’s career was revitalized by competing against his own son.

The following year, Dale Earnhardt Sr. passed away in a last lap crash at the Daytona 500. Dale Jr. was forced to mourn publicly, and in the process took on millions of fans not only for his talent, but for his charisma.

He dazzled the fans at Daytona that July, conquering the track that took his father and beginning a meteoric rise to dominance.

By 2007, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career became something out of a Dickens novel.

After years spent languishing under the oppressive management of his stepmother Teresa at DEI, Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt it was time to have some control over the racing empire his father built.

He wanted a piece of the company, or he threatened he’d walk.

He walked straight to Hendrick Motorsports.

His 2007 news conference announcing the move was live on television, and came as welcome news to Junior Nation. They felt certain that the move would put him in the equipment that would propel him to a Sprint Cup Championship.

However, many Amp drinks later, we discovered that Hendrick wasn’t the place for Jr. to rejuvenate his career.

After a promising start in the Budweiser Shootout in 2008, the slow decline began, and it became increasingly apparent that Dale Jr. was once again the victim of management.

Rick Hendrick unscrupulously began to shuffle resources, personnel and equipment to ensure the continued success of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon at the expense of Driver 88.

The machinations at HMS have ensured that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not be able to exhibit his superior talent as long as he remains under the employ of Rick Hendrick.

He remains there a prisoner of his contract to this day, waiting for the release from HMS that will allow him to once again dominate the way he did just a few short years ago.

In a nutshell, this is The Ballad of Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s a parallel history offered while his fans await the championship form they remember.

But it’s not entirely the truth. The skeleton is right, but it includes a few embellishments and omissions along the way which change the Ballad from the true story.

At the core of the narrative is the notion that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would win all the time if it wasn’t for his circumstances.

His 18 career Cup wins, his 2004 Daytona 500 crown, and his back to back Nationwide titles in 1998 and 1999 are often cited as evidence of his bottled up talent.

Maybe that portion of his career is a lot further away than everyone thinks.

Back when Dale Earnhardt Jr. was cutting his teeth in the Nationwide Series, it was a much different series than it is now. It wasn’t heavily populated with Sprint Cup drivers like it is today.

Among the final top ten rankings in the Nationwide series in 1998 were only two drivers who are currently driving in the Sprint Cup Series today (Elliott Sadler and Matt Kenseth) and a laundry list of people who are residing in the “where are they now files.”

He was seriously challenged by Kenseth in a Roush car, but also was chased by icons like Elton Sawyer, Tim Fedewa and Buckshot Jones.

Take a look at the Nationwide points standings after Texas. There are currently six full—time Cup drivers in the top ten, including of course the series champion Brad Keselowski in a Penske Dodge.

Imagine if back in 1998 there were drivers with similar Cup experience as there are now.

If you take those six drivers currently in the top 10 in Nationwide points (Keselowski, Edwards, Ky. Busch, Menard, Harvick and Logano) and figure where they are in the Sprint Cup standings and then apply those rankings to 1998, Earnhardt Jr. would have been fighting the following Cup guys for that 1998 Nationwide title: Brett Bodine (25th in Cup points), Rusty Wallace (fourth), Jeremy Mayfield (seventh), Ricky Rudd (23rd), Dale Jarrett (third) and Chad Little (16th).

Among that list are two guys who won Sprint Cup titles in their careers and a couple of less than stellar performers, but they all had something that Jr. didn’t have at that time: experience.

It’s a much different series now than it was then. There are more drivers with more experience in better stuff.

That’s not to discount those titles. Dale Earnhardt Jr. handily beat the guys he was racing against. He wore ‘em out week in and week out. It’s simply to point out that Nationwide titles in the 1990s aren’t what they are today.

But what are Nationwide titles? Do they mean anything anyway?

Jr. won back to back Nationwide titles in 1998 and ’99. Randy LaJoie also won back to back titles in the 1990s (1996-97). He professed he never wanted to go Cup racing, but he never even was seriously approached by the top echelon teams of the time to drive one of their cars.

Larry Pearson won back to back titles in the 1980s (1986-87). He was a second generation driver, and in the 80s his father David Pearson was still fresh in a lot of people’s minds. His Cup career never went anywhere either.

On the other hand, not winning a Nationwide title doesn’t exactly mean you’ll fail at the Cup series either.

Jeff Gordon has four Sprint Cup titles and 82 victories. The closest he ever got to claiming a Nationwide title was in 1992. He finished fourth to Joe Nemechek, 222 points back.

At least Gordon won five Nationwide races. His teammate and current flavor of the last four years Jimmie Johnson never got that far. In 91 Nationwide starts, Johnson managed one win in 2001.

His futility at the Nationwide level sure didn’t come with him to Sprint Cup.

53 wins and four titles later, people are biting their nails trying to figure out if he’ll win a fifth straight. NASCAR fans are either salivating over the idea of seeing Johnson make more history or watching him implode with two races to go.

For some, he’s so good it’s boring.

Jr.’s best run in the Sprint Cup Series was 2003-2004. He won two races in ’03 en route to a third place finish in the final standings. He backed it up with a fifth place run in 2004, and that’s the season that people remember.

He started it with a bang at the Daytona 500. After dominating all day, he won the race that eluded his father for 20 years in just his fifth attempt.

The Daytona 500 is a huge part of any driver’s career, and it certainly was a near obsession for his father. But does it really mean anything in terms of greatness?

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was great long before he won his only Daytona 500 in 1998. He had won 70 races and already was a seven—time champion. He had greatness covered before he won the 500. While it was a wildly popular win, history probably wouldn’t have judged him any differently if he hadn’t won it.

On the other hand, both Derrike Cope (1990) and Ward Burton (2002) won the 500. It didn’t make either of them great. Together they won seven Sprint Cup races.

That’s one fewer than Denny Hamlin has won this year.

Dale Jr.’s 2004 Daytona 500 win kicked off a season in which he won six times and posted 16 top five finishes. It’s one of two seasons in which he was won more than twice. 2001 was the other with three wins.

Interestingly, both of those seasons were campaigned at DEI, where he ultimately left because he didn’t feel he could win and compete for titles. They also happened after the death of his father and under the widely perceived ham—handed management of Teresa Earnhardt.

Off to Hendrick Motorsports for 2008.

His beginnings were promising. First time out, he grabbed his first win for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 Budweiser Shootout. He went on to chalk up another win at Michigan in June.

He hasn’t been to victory lane since.

Before everyone begins to cultivate the reasons he doesn’t win at Hendrick, it’s useful to note that Rick Hendrick dealt with Jr.’s sister and hired his uncle and cousin to help make a seamless transition to Hendrick.

They’ve thrown engineers and crew chiefs at Jr.’s woes, including current Stewart—Haas ace Darian Grubb. Grubb had guided Jimmie Johnson to a Daytona 500 in 2006, then moved over to oversee the No. 88 and the No. 5 cars for 2008.

He then moved on to the opportunity of a lifetime in September of ‘08. He had the chance to crew chief for two—time Sprint Cup champ Tony Stewart and his new operation. Some have suggested he was taken away in 2008.

He wasn’t. He pursued a great opportunity.

The idea that he was taken away is about the same as saying Ray Evernham was taken away from Jeff Gordon. He wasn’t. He left to pursue a great opportunity in team ownership.

Over the years Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a solid career. He’s amassed 18 wins at the Cup level.

Of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup this year, that puts him right about in the middle in terms of win totals.

Six guys have more than 18 wins: Johnson, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Stewart, Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton. Of those six, three got to their totals in fewer starts than Dale Jr. (Kyle and Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson).

On the other hand, of the six that haven’t gotten to 18 wins, only Matt Kenseth has had a career as long as Dale Earnhardt Jr. They’re tied at 18 apiece and are one career start apart.

Junior has 397 starts, Kenseth has 398.

The point of all of this is maybe Dale Earnhardt Jr. is just doing what Dale Earnhardt Jr. does and is running where Dale Earnhardt Jr. runs.

His average finish right now is 18.4. That’s about in the middle of all of his seasons. Six seasons he’s posted better average finishes, four have been worse. His career average finish is just about 17th. He’s a little more than one position off for 2010.

Just about everyone in the sport wants Dale Jr. to win more. I do. I’m pretty sure NASCAR does too. They know the excitement he generates when he does win.

What gets missed sometimes is the distinct possibility that he’s had his best years in terms of results. He’s 36 years old, and the fields are getting younger.

That’s not to say he’s washed up, because I certainly don’t think that. There are wins ahead, and maybe even a shot at a title.

In the interim, he still brings excitement to the sport, puts fans in the seats and eyes on the television. No matter what he does from here on, his place in the sport is secure.

But there’s no reason to panic because Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t running good. He’s running about where he usually runs. He just doesn’t have the occasional trips to victory lane.

His father went through a slump in the 1990s, and then came back. Jr. could do the same thing.

For the time being though, look at Dale Jr. and recognize he’s one of the last links to the multi—generational feel that NASCAR once had.

No matter what Jr. does with his career from here, that name of his symbolizes a different time in NASCAR. It’s worth remembering, and we owe Jr. a lot just for that.

That part of the Ballad of Dale Earnhardt is true whether he returns to victory lane or not.

There was a shoot out on and off the track at the OK Corral, otherwise known as Texas Motor Speedway. Here are the surprising and not surprising moments from the AAA Texas 500:

Surprising:  Two well-known veterans of the sport took each other out on the track, off the track and perhaps even in the ambulance ride back to the care center.  From Jeff Gordon’s perspective, Jeff Burton just wrecked him, driving him hard into the wall.  “I never thought that would happen,” Gordon said.  “I’ve lost a lot of respect for Jeff Burton.”  Burton, on the other hand, took the blame, saying “I wrecked him under caution.  I don’t have a bit of problem with what he did.”  No matter the rhetoric afterwards, Jeff Gordon got out of his decimated car, took a long walk to find Jeff Burton, and started swinging.  After both drivers were restrained by the NASCAR officials, they were loaded together into the ambulance, where Gordon emerged still fuming.  Burton was able to return to the race, albeit in a badly damaged car, to finish 36^th, while Gordon officially retired from the race, ultimately finishing in the 37^th spot.

Not Surprising:  Kyle Busch, known for antics of his own, got into big trouble with none other than NASCAR itself.  On lap 159, Busch wrecked and headed to the pits for repairs.  NASCAR determined that Busch was too fast out trying to beat the pace car and ordered him back to his pit stall to be held for a lap.  While sitting on pit road, Busch decided to take his frustrations out on the NASCAR official, giving him the middle finger salute.  NASCAR ordered Busch to be held two more laps for his indiscretion, which left him several laps down, finishing in the 32^nd position.

Surprising:  With Joe Gibb’s good guy image, it was surprising to see the Coach in a black hat.  But there he was in Victory Lane after his driver Denny Hamlin drove like a demon, beating out Matt Kenseth for the checkered flag.  Hamlin not only performed the Texas sweep, he also claimed the points lead, now 33 points ahead of former point’s leader Jimmie Johnson.  “My goal was to win the race, nothing else,” Hamlin said simply, notching one more win on his Chase belt and moving ever closer to his championship dream.

Not Surprising:  Both Chase contenders Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick had decent finishes, with each one overcoming challenges of their own.  Johnson had all kinds of problems on pit road, from losing a tire to poor pit stops by his crew, while Harvick slapped the wall in the waning stages of the race.  Johnson finished ninth and lost the points lead, falling to an unfamiliar second place in the Chase.  Harvick finished sixth and is now 59 points back in the standings, but still within striking distance of the championship.

Surprising:   Speaking of Johnson’s pit road struggles, crew chief Chad Knaus took some swift action to resolve the issues.   Knaus summarily relieved his own struggling pit crew and swapped them out with Gordon’s No. 24 pit crew, who almost immediately began pulling off improved pit stops.  Johnson’s former pit crew members were left to wallow in their indiscretions as they handled the task of disassembling the No. 24 pit box.

Not Surprising:  During an interview after the race, Chad Knaus, looking a bit more rattled than usual, nevertheless took full responsibility for making that most difficult call to swap out the pit crews.  “It was sad we had to do that,” Knaus said.  “But it was in the best interest of Hendrick Motor Sports.”  Knaus reaffirmed that the “4-8 and 2-4 teams are one,” making his decision a bit easier, at least in his eyes. 

Surprising:   There were some surprising drivers finishing in the top five at Texas.  Probably most surprising and surprised, however, was Joey Logano.  Sliced Bread admitted that he was not fond of the track, but still went out to lead laps, ultimately finishing in the fourth position.  “I never thought we’d be in front here,” Logano said.  “This is fun!” 

Not Surprising:   While Greg Biffle may not have had as much fun as Logano, especially after having transmission problems late in the race, he still managed a top-five finish.  Biffle inarguably had the most dominant car of the race, starting from the outside pole and leading the majority of the laps.  “It was really tough,” Biffle said.  “We had bad drive train vibration problems and today it bit us.”  With his solid run, however, Biffle jumped two spots to ninth in the Chase standings.

Surprising:  Probably most surprising was the driver who finished in the runner up spot, Matt Kenseth.  At one point, Kenseth was a lap down, however, he rallied back to give Hamlin a run for his money on the final laps.  “That was disappointing I didn’t finish it off there,” Kenseth said.  This was the fourth time that Kenseth finished second, but his bridesmaid run hoisted him from eighth to fifth in the point standings.

Not Surprising:  David Ragan, under the tutelage of crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, had a great run deep in the heart of Texas.  The young driver, who has not had the best of seasons, started in the fifth position and finished in the eighth spot.  He most likely would have finished even higher had not he too had problems in the pits, in his case a loose lug nut issue.  “That goes to show you how good of a car we had today,” Ragan said.  “It was a good job by Drew and our UPS team, but we just need to get better on pit road.”

With the “No Limits” experience at Texas Motor Speedway in the rear view mirror, the Cup Series will head for the next-to-the last race of the season at Phoenix.   The Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway will run on Sunday, November 14^th at 3:00 PM on ESPN.

Matt Kenseth called his shot on the radio before the Green-White-Checkered finish and he almost hit it right out of the park. Except almost doesn’t count in racing and he came home with a second place finish.

“Yeah, it’s been an interesting day,” Kenseth said.

“All our cars were fast today. Greg probably had the best car if he wouldn’t have broken his transmission or whatever happened there. Our pit stops were really good today, they were better than they have been.”

“I didn’t speed on pit road today, which was a bonus. I’ve been doing that too much lately. Just all day we had a mistake-free day. Even when we had trouble we were able to stay calm and fix our problems and get back in the lead lap.”

He continued, “So just everything went just right today in the pits and on pit road and pretty much on the track, too. I wish I could do the last lap one more time and try something different, but other than that, everything went as good as we could have expected today.”

Texas Motor Speedway has always been a racetrack that the No. 17 have excelled on. Seven top fives, 10 top 10s and 497 laps led and three straight second place finishes (2006, and twice in 2007) led Kenseth into the day.

With a win in their pocket, 2002, Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 came at great time for a team that even while making the Chase, hasn’t had many highlight reel moments in 2010.

Fords were dominant in both the practice sessions and qualifying, sweeping the top three positions and five out of the top 10. The Roush-Fenway Fords more specifically, were on track to steal the show coming off a Carl Edwards victory in the Nationwide Series race Saturday afternoon.

Kenseth and company went about their business in their usual quiet manner. Having to start 19th wasn’t a big concern for a car that was primed for race trim. Once the race arrived though, it was a good thing that there were 334 laps and plenty of time to make changes. Kenseth went a lap down early after an unscheduled pit stop for a vibration.

From there the car came alive upon getting the lucky dog and his lap back and tore through the field. All eyes remained on the leaders as teammate Greg Biffle led 224 laps, covering the field. Or they were on former teammate Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon when the two got physical on the backstretch after a wreck.

Kenseth later joked, “I heard there was a fight today, did everyone take their helmets off?” In 2006 at Bristol Kenseth was on the receiving end of a Gordon shove after the two tangled on the track. Gordon hadn’t taken his helmet off.

Back on track, Kenseth and company continued to climb finally reached the top 10 and joined the real fun. After passing Mark Martin for the second spot on lap 311, he needed to erase over a near two-second lead by Denny Hamlin to have a shot at the victory.

When Patrick Carpentier spun his No. 26 and the caution came out with six laps remaining, that’s when Kenseth spoke his confidence over the radio. The restart was one of the most exciting ones of the night as he took the lead coming off turn two and then lost it going down the backstretch.

“I got a really good restart and he pulled as close as he could to me to get the wind off of me, which in lap 100 you wouldn’t do that to somebody because they’d be mad, but over last ten laps that’s totally fair,” said Kenseth.

“I’d probably be trying to do the same thing as much as I could to get the inside guy loose and get him uncomfortable. So surprisingly my car was pretty stable and it lasted for a lap, and I just lifted real early because we were side by side and I wanted to actually keep him outside of me, and I thought if we left turn 2 at least nose to nose and I could get into 3 and still have him outside of me that we’d have a shot to the finish line,” he said.

Kenseth’s race would be over by turn three however.

“I probably shouldn’t have been holding the wheel as much as I did but I wanted to get a nice run off the corner, and as soon as he got away from my side for whatever reason and got behind me, my car just took off. It just felt like it raised the car half an inch and went straight, and I had to get out of the gas, so I had to keep from hitting the wall.”

“I don’t know, it was a heck of a race down to the finish … you hate it when you get beat.”

Getting beat at Texas is something that Kenseth is unfortunately becoming all too familiar with. In 2007 Jeff Burton passed him on the last lap coming off turn two when Kenseth again got loose. Later that season he and Jimmie Johnson had a fierce battle over the final 10 laps before Johnson passed him for good with two laps to go.

Getting passed again on the last lap at Texas just gave him his fourth second place finish and his eighth top five at the track, which now leads all active drivers. He’s getting closer to the day when he’ll again be leading all 42 drivers to the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway.