FORT WORTH, Texas -- Could it really be that there might be a new sheriff in the Sprint Cup series garage?

In the wake of Sunday's victory by Denny Hamlin at Texas Motor Speedway, Mike Ford sure sounded as if he's ready for a crew-chief showdown with Chad Knaus. In fact, it could be argued that the respective teams they lead had one earlier in the day at TMS -- and that the No. 48 team blinked first and perhaps even repeatedly.

“

"I think our race team is better than their race team ... and I'm not afraid to go toe to toe with them to do it.

”

-- MIKE FORD

Before the day was done, the No. 11 pit crew of Hamlin and Ford not only had outperformed the No. 48 crew of four-time defending champion driver Jimmie Johnson and Knaus, it had run them out of their pit stall.

The gamesmanship started long before the green flag dropped Sunday. Johnson began the weekend leading the Chase, with Hamlin in close pursuit, behind by only 14 points. When Johnson qualified better than Hamlin and was, as a result, able to choose his pit stall for the race first, Ford was prepared to fire the first effective shot in what proved to be a brilliant psychological battle with the 48 guys.

Ford took note of which pit stall Knaus selected -- and when his turn to pick came, he picked the one right in front of them. It was payback, he said later, for Knaus pulling the same stunt on his team earlier in the Chase at Kansas. Ford made no secret throughout the race of the fact that it was his goal not only to box in Johnson on pit stops but also to intimidate the No. 48 pit crew into making uncharacteristic mistakes.

"You know, that has raised a lot of controversy," Ford said. "But I think you need to look back to Kansas and the usual courtesy was thrown out the window."

Ford's forward thinking

Ford said it was an easy choice to pick the pit stall directly in front of Johnson when it finally came time for him to choose, considering Hamlin did not qualify well. He started 30th, on the outside of Row 15.

"When it was time to choose pits, that one was an option. I felt like that was our best option," Ford said. "You take the Chase hat off and you say, 'What's going to be best for our race team?' I felt like we could outrun those guys all day, and we were able to."

They ran the 48 pit crew right out of the track, as Knaus eventually made the call to replace his struggling crew with the suddenly available pit crew that normally works for the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon. That Hendrick Motorsports crew came available when Gordon got wrecked out of the event by Jeff Burton during a caution on Lap 192.

It was a surprising move ordered by Knaus that some have interpreted as a crack in the foundation of the 48 operation. Ford, at least, certainly seemed to see it that way and did not mind saying so during the post-race news conference. (Continued)