It would be difficult to argue that Mike Ford, crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 team, is not a fierce competitor. It would be even harder to argue that it wasn’t his leadership and determination, along with the toughness of his driver, that has willed this team in the right direction this season. But there is no argument that sitting atop the standings with two races remaining was this team’s goal from day one.
Ford is in his fifth season with Hamlin and the two have built quite the successful relationship. The tandem have made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup all five seasons they have been together. This season, the championship is nearly in their grasp but Ford and Hamlin know they will have to beat the four-time series champion duo of crew chief Chad Knaus and and driver Jimmie Johnson first.
“We are staying focused on what we need to do,” Ford said. “We saw them (the No. 48 team) making mistakes, saw them studying us real hard, and when you put your focus on watching other people, you make mistakes. So I was glad to see that they are watching us and paying attention. That means they are chasing. And they made mistakes in doing so.”
This past weekend, Knaus made an unusual change during the race at Texas when he completely switched out the No. 48 team’s pit crew with that of teammate Jeff Gordon.
“It’s something new, for sure,” Johnson said. “It’s nothing we’ve done in the past. But I just watched the World Series and when a pitcher is not doing his job, they make a change and get someone in who can.”
“It’s like changing a spring or changing a shock,” Knaus said. “You have to put the best components together to try to win the championship.”
Hamlin, Ford and the No. 11 team closed last season by posting a third-place finish at Phoenix and a win at Homestead-Miami.
“I think being in the Chase for the last five years we’ve learned something during the course of each one that’s gotten us to the point where we’re at right now,” Hamlin said. “I feel like we’ve prepared for this moment for a long time. I’ve never questioned our strategy, even though our strategy has been questioned at times, and I feel like we’re doing what’s best for us.”
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: News And Notes - Phoenix International Raceway
CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR 0 David Reutimann Toyota Tums 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet McDonald's 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Polaris 9 Aric Almirola Ford Budweiser 9 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet C&J Energy 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing 13 Casey Mears Toyota GEICO 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Old Spice / Office Depot 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M Scotch Brand 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Valvoline 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Paralyzed Veterans of America 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 26 Bill Elliott Ford Air National Guard 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cat Financial 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 34 Tony Raines Ford A&W All American Food 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing 37 David Gilliland Ford Taco Bell 38 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver's 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army Veterans Day Tribute 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Insignia HDTV / Best Buy 46 Michael McDowell Chevrolet SuperPawn 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Little Debbie / Safeway 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools 55 Mike Bliss Toyota Prism Motorsports 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 66 Jason Leffler Toyota Prism Motorsports 71 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet South Point Hotel & Casino 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 81 Terry Labonte Dodge Whitney's Collision Centers 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 83 Kasey Kahne Toyota Red Bull 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota FrontRowJoe.com 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Diet Mountain Dew "Paint the 88" / National Guard 98 Paul Menard Ford Peak / Menards 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 164 Landon Cassill Toyota Gunselman Motorsports
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