NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Crew Chiefs Push Buttons For Homestead
Championship contenders have a mix of approaches for the season’s final weekend...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted November 16, 2010   Charlotte, NC
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chiefs Gil Martin (Left), Chad Knaus (Center) and Mike Ford (Right) prepare to face off in Homestead. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
The three crew chiefs who will help decide the winner of the 2010 Sprint Cup championship are locked and loaded and ready for Homestead.

Gil Martin, crew chief for third-place Kevin Harvick, is taking a new car to Sunday’s season-ending race and is so confident that it’s ready that he has made plans for his team to take a deepsea-fishing trip prior to starting work at the track.

Mike Ford, crew chief for point leader Denny Hamlin, said he and his driver will be on the same page at Homestead after a tough Sunday last week at Phoenix.

And Chad Knaus, winner of the past four titles with driver Jimmie Johnson, says he and Johnson are all set – indeed, very pleased – to be the challengers entering Homestead, for a change.

How well the three teams are prepared will begin to become known Friday as practice and qualifying are scheduled for Sunday’s 400-mile race, the final event of a grueling 36-race, coast-to-coast schedule.

“We’re going into Homestead with a lot of optimism,” said Knaus. “We’re definitely excited about the opportunity to be battling for a championship once again. I’m proud of the fact that we’ve been able to put ourselves in this position a few times.

“We closed it up some at Phoenix, giving us a fighting chance. If we do everything we need to do, we have the opportunity to win it.”
Crew chief Mike Ford wasn't able to back up his claim that the No. 11 team is better than the No. 48 team. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Hamlin’s point lead over Johnson was trimmed to 15 Sunday after a late-race pit stop and a fuel-mileage finish dropped Hamlin from second out of the top 10, leading Hamlin to toss some public criticism Ford’s way in the post-race press conference. On Tuesday, Ford said there are no lingering problems.

“Denny knows how to call races, and he watches these races and studies them,” Ford said. “But when you mix partial information with lack of information and throw in a little frustration, you get inaccurate comments. He said some things that weren’t true. I can deal with that. I’ll blow my stack occasionally, as well, and say things I wish I hadn’t said. You can look over that. That’s nothing new.”


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