Chad Knaus
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Chad Anthony Knaus (pronounced kuh-NOWSE) (born August 5, 1971 in Rockford, Illinois) is a NASCAR Nextel Cup crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, who currently drives the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by teammate Jeff Gordon and operated by Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports.
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[edit] Background
Born in Illinois, Chad Knaus grew up around the racetracks of the Midwest helping his father race against the likes of Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki, Rusty Wallace and Dick Trickle. By the time he was 14, Knaus served as crew chief during his father's Rockford Speedway championship season. The father-son combination also won the Great Northern Series championship and finished second in the Winston Racing Series. A few years and many victories later, Knaus moved to North Carolina in 1991 to pursue a job in national stock car racing.
After working with Stanley Smith's stock car team, Knaus landed a job working on the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team led by crew chief Ray Evernham and raced by driver Jeff Gordon. From 1993 to 1997, Knaus advanced from a general fabricator to manage the entire chassis and body construction program for the No. 24 team. Serving as a tire changer on the original Rainbow Warriors pit crew, Knaus was an integral part of the 1995 and 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship teams.
Following the 1997 season, Knaus joined Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as car chief, where he worked with Steve Park, and later Darrell Waltrip. During the 1998 season, he moved to Tyler Jet Motorsports, and in 1999, the call came that would lead Knaus to Dodge, Melling Racing and his ultimate career goal. Ray Evernham wanted Knaus to lead the Dodge Development team, an opportunity he quickly seized.
During two Dodge test sessions, Knaus worked with Melling Racing driver Stacy Compton. The two worked well together, resulting in Knaus' hire as crew chief for Compton in 2001.
[edit] NASCAR Nextel Cup
2001 Season
In 2001, Knaus was crew chief for Mark Melling's operation, which was sponsored by Pinkerton Tobacco, with Compton as driver.
2002 Season
In 2002, Knaus was offered the position of crew chief for a rookie driver in the Hendrick Motorsports stable, Jimmie Johnson. Knaus lead the rookie team to unprecedented success in 2002, earning three wins, 6 top-fives, 21 top-10s and 4 Bud Pole Awards. Johnson became the first rookie in Winston Cup history to ever lead the point standings (he eventually finished fifth overall). He also finished second in Rookie of the Year honors to Ryan Newman. As a result of these efforts, Knaus took home the inaugural IRWIN "Crew Chief of the Year" award.
2003 Season
For the 2003 campaign, the #48 team had three victories, 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-ten finishes. Johnson finished the season second in the points standings to Matt Kenseth.
2004 Season
In 2004, the season began slowly, with some early disappointments in weeks two and three at Rockingham and Las Vegas. However, the team quickly rebounded with a week five win at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Subsequent victories at the Coca-Cola 600 and the Pocono 500 helped solidify their place in the NASCAR Chase for the Cup towards the end of the season. However, poor finishes at Talladega (37th) and Kansas (32nd) nearly stopped their chances to win the Nextel Cup, but four subsequent victories put them 18 points behind leader Kurt Busch going into the final race. The second victory at the Subway 500 in Martinsville, Virginia on October 24, 2004, was marred by tragedy when Rick Hendrick's son, Ricky Hendrick, nieces and brother were killed in an airplane crash en route to the race. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the incident. The team eventually finished second in the Nextel Cup, losing to Kurt Busch by just 8 points.
2004 Statistics
- 2nd Place in NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Cup
- Wins - 8
- Top 5 - 20
- Top 10 - 23
- Average Finish - 12
[edit] Criticism
A significant amount of controversy has surrounded the #48 team and crew chief Chad Knaus. During the 2005 Nextel Cup season, Knaus had received a fine and suspenson for the height of the car being too low in post-race inspection. The suspension was overruled because it was proven that that change was detrimental to the 48 team and wasn't on purpose. In one case, after a win at Dover, a rule was made to prevent the use of shocks which were on the #48 and #5 cars, though the win before the change stood.
In early 2006, Knaus was accused of "cheating" after Jimmie Johnson's Daytona 500 qualifying run. Knaus made an illegal adjustment to the rear window, which resulted in his suspension from Cup events until March 22. Despite the loss of his crew chief, Johnson won the Daytona 500 with interim crew chief, Darian Grubb. While more accusations of cheating were made, the car passed inspection, therefore proving the team won fairly.
[edit] #48 Pit Crew
The following are the #48 "over the wall" crew:
- Chris Anderson (Jack Man)
- David Bryant (Windshield/Driver Support)
- Mike Knauer (Catch Can)
- Tim Ladyga (Rear Tire Changer)
- Ron Malec (Rear Tire Carrier/Car Chief)
- Shane Parsnow (Front Tire Changer)
- Jim Pollard (Gas Man)
- Arthur Simmons (Front Tire Carrier)
[edit] Outside activities
Knaus is a regular commentator on NASCAR Performance, a program that broadcasts from each track every week. Each program provides a crew chief perspective on the hot topics in NASCAR, as well as a preview of the weekend's race. Knaus is joined by Bootie Barker of Haas CNC Racing, a weekly special guest, and the program is anchored by Fox broadcaster Larry McReynolds.
