Oh, Oh...Domino

Van Morrison, who sang the song that is this blog's title today, might be able to figure out how a team that came 15 points from winning a title in 2010 has been blown apart a short year later.

I can't.

Well, that's not exactly true, but I have a hard time figuring out why it was more Mike Ford's fault than it was Denny Hamlin's, or anybody else at Joe Gibbs Racing. NASCAR is a team sport, and titles are won by groups of people, not a driver, crew chief or mechanic.

In any event, Ford is now the former crew chief of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, and is even now being measured for (this is my opinion) Shell-Pennzoil yellow and red for the new driver of the No. 22 Dodge.

That's if Roger Penske and Tim Cindric have a brain cell between them. Having known both men for about 20 years, they do indeed have a lot of brain cells between them.

Herein lies the problem that blew the 11 out of the water. Mike Ford is a no-nonsense, get-it-done-and-let's-win-races kind of guy. He's not about mollycoddling, cajoling or otherwise getting a driver to do his flippin' job. Ford is organized, persistent, driven and focused.

Hamlin, it seems, is driven and focused, has the same kind of attitude in general as Ford does, but has a streak in him that reminds me of an exceptionally talented football/basketball player who knows he has talent and wants everyone else to do it his way instead of the other way around.

In short, they butted heads and Ford lost. There was a chill in the air inside the 11 truck that had nothing to do with the air conditioning last year; it apparently went to single digits this year.

Things don't seem to be all that healthy in the JGR camp, overall. With Greg Zipadelli rumored to be wanting out to go to Stewart Haas, the usual Kyle Busch circus and a lack of performance by the 20 car, there's more uncertainty than ever over there.

Home Depot is, apparently, greasing the skids to get out as soon as it possibly can. M&M'S is down to its last bag with Busch's antics, too. This situation will bear watching...