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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
PEMBERTON: Two To Go Craziness
I don’t think anyone expected all the drama that came out of Texas Motor Speedway last week...
Randy Pemberton  |  Posted November 10, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Randy Pemberton on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
Things usually tend to get a little bit more hurried, a little more stressful as the season winds down each year, but I don’t think anyone expected all the drama that came out of Texas last week. The one thing I do expect, however, is that the craziness will continue through Homestead.

The No. 11 vs. the No. 48:

Let the games begin …the mind games, that is...

Denny Hamlin has made no bones about it – he intends to win this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and considers his No. 11 team the best. His win at Texas Motor Speedway amidst Jimmie Johnson’s team’s pit road problems proved just that.

Hamlin’s crew chief, Mike Ford, however, took it a step further and upped the ante by saying his team was better than Johnson’s and that the No. 48 team’s midrace crew swap with teammate Jeff Gordon was “an act of desperation.”

This after the No. 11 team chose the pit box right next to the No. 48 – violating an unwritten code of ethics amongst those in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup – and arguably made it more difficult for Johnson to enter and exit his pit box. Ford’s pit selection, though, was payback for Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, choosing the spot next to the No. 11 Toyota at Kansas Speedway.

Oh, the games we play.

These competitor mind games are great for NASCAR and the spirit of competition, but I’d warn against declaring psychological warfare on the No. 48 team heading into Phoenix, a place where Johnson easily could decimate the field as he did last season. If Ford is going to pursue this tactic, it is incumbent upon his driver to back it up, and Hamlin has yet to win at Phoenix. The Joe Gibbs Racing team is going to have their proverbial tail between their legs if Johnson rubs their face in the dirt with another Phoenix win this weekend.

In Hamlin’s favor, though, is Johnson’s entry into unfamiliar territory. With two races remaining, Johnson is second in points and is accustomed to merely protecting his lead in the closing races, as opposed to the offensive role he now must play. In his post-race comments at Texas regarding his pit crew’s mishaps and the decision to swap crews, the reigning four-time champ said all the right things, but his face told another story. You could sense the stress and dramatic turn of events were beginning to wear on him.

So, if there ever has been a time to get inside the head of Johnson and the No. 48 team, it would be now. I’d just be careful how far in there I’d venture … you just might get outsmarted and outrun … you just might get played...

The latest in the Kyle Busch saga:

Kyle Busch now is $25,000 lighter in the wallet after telling the NASCAR official in his pit he was “number one” while serving a one-lap penalty for speeding on pit road at Texas. When will the guy learn? There is not a single person who works in the garage area or watches the races from home who could deny his unbelievable driving ability. Without question, Busch is one of the best, if not the best, wheelmen in the sport today. The problem is that, despite all his Cup wins, he sooner or later will have to go after the championship and he mentally is not capable of that right now. Busch must learn to control his emotions.

You’ll have bad days in this sport and you’ll have bad moments. When you have a bad moment, you immediately must concentrate on how to bounce back from that moment – not react to it. Once it’s over, as his one-lap penalty was, there’s nothing you can do but go on from there.

He has shown flashes of maturity and the ability to control his emotions, but hasn’t quite figured out how to reel himself in yet. Busch needs to look no further than teammate Denny Hamlin, who isn’t the most mature driver in the garage but certainly has grown by leaps and bounds. And look where he is in the points.

Quality qualifying:

Qualifying well will be at a premium this weekend at Phoenix, as well as at Homestead. In the last three races, the No. 48 team has qualified 19th, 19th and 17th. Despite how blistering fast a pit crew might be, you can’t qualify mid-pack and close the gap created by the top pit stalls that go to the top qualifiers. The significance of having that first pit box with no one in front of you cannot be overstated. The No. 48 team has been accustomed to qualifying well and enjoying a primo pit stall. However, they haven’t qualified well in the Chase and thus haven’t received the best pit stalls, which I think has played a part in their pit crew’s mistakes.

Denny Hamlin in charge:

With a 33-point lead, Hamlin can afford to finish as far back as seventh or eighth at Phoenix and still be the favorite heading into the season finale at Homestead because Johnson never really has had to race at Homestead. He always has gone in there protecting his lead – not chasing someone. We’ve definitely seen a chink in the No. 48 team’s armor this year and that chink became a bit of a chunk at Texas. It will be very interesting to see if Johnson comes out and waxes the field at Phoenix as he is prone to do, or if his team continues to slip a bit and show their humanity.

Randy Pemberton is a 24-year veteran of motorsports journalism who currently serves as host of NASCAR in a Hurry and NASCAR Race Hub, as well as a reporter for NASCAR Live on SPEED. He has hosted, produced, reported and written for numerous motorsports programs and specials over the years. Pemberton won the Russ Catlin Award of Excellence for broadcast journalism three times, in addition to being named a multi-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association award for spot news. Pemberton, who joined SPEED in 2007 after years with other networks, has produced, written and served as the talent for more than 500 feature packages for national television productions.

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The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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