When current Hendrick Motorsports VP of Competition Chad Knaus first interviewed with Ray Evernham, crew chief of Jeff Gordon at the time, he was just a young man with a dream.
When communicating that vision to one of the most pivotal people in the history of the sport, Knaus didn’t try to conceal his ambition.
“I want your job.”
While Knaus is inexorably linked to Jimmie Johnson, having won their seven NASCAR Cup Series championships together (second only to Dale Inman with eight championships as crew chief), his career started out as a fabricator and tire changer on the No. 24 team of Gordon and Evernham.
After the No. 24 won its second title in three years in 1997, Knaus left to join the burgeoning Dale Earnhardt, Inc. No. 1 team as car chief for Steve Park. Following that, he was recruited by Evernham to work on research and development for Dodge, as it was returning to NASCAR after over two decades. That helped propel him to his first crew chief role, calling the shots for Stacy Compton at Melling Racing in 2001.
Hendrick, however, ultimately became his forever home, molding the No. 48 team in his image the following season, just as Evernham did a decade earlier with the No. 24.
During the first-season pairing of Knaus and a relatively unknown commodity in Johnson in 2002, the No. 48 wasn’t just in contention for Rookie of the Year — it was also in the hunt for the championship until four races to go in their its first year, Johnson winning his first event just 10 races into the season at Auto Club Speedway.
Like his predecessor, Knaus was keen to exploit every advantage within the rule book – as well as become inspiration for a number of additional entries and chapters throughout the years. What Hall of Fame crew chief wouldn’t be worth their weight in spilled lead shot and extra fuel line if they didn’t push the rules to the breaking point? Knaus’ history reads like a greatest hits album of fines and suspensions.
In 2004 at Dover Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. radioed his crew laughing, saying the back of the No. 48 “was sitting up in the air like a damn monster truck” after Knaus had devised some trick shocks that would get the rear quarters and spoiler up in the air for maximum downforce. No penalty there, just a rule clarification for the future.
In 2006 during qualifying for the Daytona 500, smoke could be seen wafting from the rear window of the No. 48 as it went through the bumps in turn 4. Knaus had constructed a rear window adjusted by jack screws that would move outward to lessen the drag on the restrictor plate-equipped cars. When the body made contact with the tires, it was hard to ignore.
In 2007 at Sonoma Raceway, some massaging of the front fenders pushed the car far enough out of spec that NASCAR suspended Knaus for four races and fined him $100,000.
In 2012 he was penalized again for body modifications for the Daytona 500 by using thinner metal between the roof and side windows, docking him another $100,000 and a six-race suspension.
While he certainly pushed the envelope in the rule book, Knaus also managed to game the system and use NASCAR’s playoff new format to his advantage. In their first championship season, he guided the No. 48 to five consecutive finishes of first or second in the middle of the 10-race title format. In 2007 while teammate Gordon was having a career year, one that would have produced his fifth championship in virtually any other era or year, Knaus gave Johnson the tools to reel off four consecutive wins – a modern-era record that has been duplicated but never beaten – and a second straight championship.
By 2008, Knaus guided his driver to a third consecutive championship, a feat that had only been done before by Cale Yarborough and his crew chief Herb Nab. In 2009, another Hendrick teammate was having a career season, with 50-year old Mark Martin joining the four-car effort, returning to full-time duty for the first time in three years. Focusing on wins to maximize points and overcome any crashes or mechanical failures, Knaus’ cars scored four wins in the final 10 races, notching a fourth straight title.
At this point, many would say, “OK, we get it, you’re pretty good.”
A fifth title followed in 2010. During the final 10-race championship stretch, Knaus made a pit crew change mid-race with Gordon at Texas Motor Speedway after some lack luster stops by the No. 48 crew.
Championship six came in 2013 – including Knaus’ lone Daytona 500 win as a crew chief, as he was serving a suspension during the 2006 win.
In 2016, Carl Edwards looked to have finally had a championship in the bag, but a late-race caution set up an overtime pit stop and finish. The No. 48 had to start in the back of the field due to a problem in prerace inspection, but Johnson had worked his way through the field and was in contention for the win.
Under caution, Knaus radioed to his driver, “I don’t care, tell me what you need, we can win this.”
On that final stop, the No. 48 came in sixth and exited in fourth after a big adjustment to help the car rotate in the center of the corner. A large crash at the front of the field triggered by Edwards blocking Joey Logano set the stage for another restart; Johnson was running second when another caution bunched up the field for another restart. Johnson was able to clear Kyle Larson and bring home a record-tying seventh championship for the duo.
The driver gets the credit for avoiding the wrecks and making the right moves on the restarts, but the crew chief was able to keep his driver’s head in the game when he was running sixth and get the right information needed to get his car to be able to do what it needed to the final few laps. The driver exclaimed over the radio, “I don’t know what to say!”
Welcome to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, seven-time champion Chad Knaus – I think that says it all.
Vito is one of the longest-tenured writers at Frontstretch, joining the staff in 2007. With his column Voice of Vito (monthly, Fridays) he’s a contributor to several other outlets, including Athlon Sports and Popular Speed in addition to making radio appearances. He forever has a soft-spot in his heart for old Mopars and presumably oil-soaked cardboard in his garage.