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Less than a month into the Cup season, there have been signs that the tenuous alliances among teams have not held up well on or off the track.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s led to an unease not often visible at this point in the season. <\/span><\/p>\n As the sport enters a time of transition \u2014 <\/span>new rules, new car in 2021, new engine as early as 2022<\/a><\/span>\u2014 can a manufacturer keep its teams together for these major projects? Or will there be fissures, much like what happened between Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing in 2016 and Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing last season?<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, NASCAR seeks new manufacturers and any company that comes into the sport likely will take teams from current manufacturers. Are the seeds of discontent being sown now?<\/span><\/p>\n Already manufacturers have had to react to issues between their teams.<\/span><\/p>\n Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance, conceded this week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that at Ford, <\/span>\u201cwe\u2019re a family and every family has issues.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Just look at the issues Ford has had this season:<\/span><\/p>\n Joey Logano confronted fellow Ford driver Michael McDowell on pit road after the Daytona 500<\/a><\/span> for pushing a Toyota and not Logano\u2019s Ford on the final lap. McDowell told the media he was not happy with how fellow Ford drivers treated him in that race.<\/span><\/p>\n Ford driver <\/span>Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was not happy with Logano<\/a><\/span>, who chastised Stenhouse on the radio for a move during the Daytona 500 that cost Logano several spots and, according to Logano, could have caused an accident. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor sure we had our issues at Daytona, can\u2019t deny that,\u201d Rushbook said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week. \u201cBut as a family, we talked through those issues, tried to understand what led to those issues and then how can we fix that and make it even better going forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ford isn\u2019t the only manufacturer that has had issues between some of its teams. Chevrolet understands the delicate balance between competition and cooperation. <\/span><\/p>\n Hendrick Motorsports partnered with Joe Gibbs Racing, a Toyota team<\/a><\/span>, and not fellow Chevrolet teams Chip Ganassi Racing and Richard Childress Racing in the Daytona 500. The move was made to counter the strength of the Fords, which dominated both qualifying races and entered as the favorite to win the 500.<\/span><\/p>\n Kyle Larson<\/a>\u2019s comments this week on NASCAR America\u2019s Splash & Go <\/span>about Hendrick Motorsports \u201ccheating\u201d ruffled feelings in the Chevy camp.<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>That led to a late-night Twitter apology from Larson and subsequent comments <\/span>about how he had poorly chosen his words<\/a><\/span>. Ganassi gets its engines from Hendrick Motorsports.<\/span><\/p>\n