CONCORD, N.C. -- The No. 24 and No. 48 teams met in full Monday at the building they share within the Hendrick Motorsports complex.

By Tuesday morning, the respective crew chiefs of those teams were ready to meet with the media to explain they have agreed to switch the pit crews for the two teams for the remainder of this season. The No. 24 Chevrolet pit crew for the car driven by Jeff Gordon replaced the No. 48 crew of driver Jimmie Johnson for the final three pits stops in this past Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, causing a minor uproar, it seems, everywhere else but within the Hendrick camp itself.

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But ultimately, it's bigger than seven guys. We're 520 people strong on this team, and we're 80-plus people strong in this building. So it's more about the team than about what people think.

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-- CHAD KNAUS

The seven-member, over-the wall crew that pitted Gordon's car for the entire season until mid-race Sunday will now be pitting Johnson's car for the final two races of the season, beginning this Sunday in Phoenix. Johnson's regular crew will pit Gordon's car.

Chad Knaus, crew chief for the four-time defending champion No. 48 team, made the call for the initial switch after Gordon had been wrecked out of the race by Jeff Burton on Lap 192, citing poor performance to that point by the 48 pit crew.

Asked Tuesday if he would have made the call for a mid-race switch if Gordon hadn't been wrecked out of the event, he replied:

"Probably not. It was a unique situation. They're crashed out. They're sitting there and our guys are struggling. To not do that, I think would have been a mistake.

"I don't think people understand that it's not an easy decision to do that kind of thing. It's something where emotions are involved, and we understand that. We love our guys. We eat, sleep, drink with them. We win with them; we lose with them. We do whatever it is with them. But ultimately, it's bigger than seven guys. We're 520 people strong on this team, and we're 80-plus people strong in this building. So it's more about the team than about what people think."

Knaus denied race-winning crew chief Mike Ford's contention that switching pit crews during an event was an act of "desperation." Ford's No. 11 Toyota team, with driver Denny Hamlin, heads into the final two races of the season leading the Chase -- with Johnson second, just 33 points behind.

"I don't think it's an act of desperation by any stretch of the imagination. It's an act of what we've got to do to try to win the race," Knaus said. "We've got a setup in Phoenix that we like a lot. We've got a car that we run in Phoenix that we like a lot. We're not going to go and run that exact setup if it's not fast. I hate to say it as bluntly as this is, but it's like changing a spring or changing a shock or something like that. You have to put the best components together to try to win a championship."

Steve Letarte, Gordon's crew chief, said he was on board with the decision, as well. He said he has spoken at length with his driver and that he assured Gordon that he still will have a legitimate chance to win each of the last two races with his new pit crew.

Letarte also addressed Ford's post-race comment that apparently at Hendrick it is more important to win for the company rather than for the individual race team.

"Well, I didn't hear his comments specifically. But I can tell you from our perspective that if there is a difference between winning for a team and winning for a company, then he obviously doesn't work for Hendrick," Letarte said. "That's the way we've been built; that's the way it's been designed. It's been that way forever -- ever since I've been here, at least.

"We all race for [team owner] Mr. [Rick] Hendrick. We all want to win for him. While I would love to see the 24 win, and that's our goal for the next two races, we don't have a chance to win the championship. So we're going to put whatever effort we can into whichever team still has a shot to win it.

"I think my personal response to that is that I feel I've had a part in the last four championships the 48 has won. So I guess we do win them as a company."

Marshall Carlson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, added that there are many interchangeable personnel parts within the organization and the four full-time Sprint Cup teams it fields. And he stressed that the crew chiefs have all of them at their disposal at all times to use as they see fit.

"Really, the way our system works is that this is a crew chief-led organization. We say that a lot -- but this is actually a living example of that," Carlson said. "The way our system is built, with pit crews in particular during a race, any one of our crew chiefs can call for a backup from any of the other teams.

"So at the track we have the seven members who go over the wall. And each team also has two backup athletes at the event. And any team can pull any of those backups to their team if they have a need. So what happened on Sunday in Texas was an example of that. Chad's team conferred, and it happened immediately. They didn't need to consult anyone else. They knew where their authority was; they knew they had that capability. They made the decision and went on."

Related:
• Hendrick to swap crews for rest of season
• Menzer: Ford sees signs of 48 weakness