NASCAR Cup Series

Knaus' run of dominance isn't over yet

Published Dec. 1, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Chad Knaus is a master motivator. He’s a man in control of his emotions, one able to emit calmness in a race filled with chaos.

That is perhaps never more true than when he is in the throes of a championship battle in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Go ahead, try to rattle him. Season after season, the mind games play out over the final races. And year after year, it is Knaus with the ability to shrug off the darts lobbed in his direction while making moves that seem to wreak havoc on the mind-sets of others.

After all, that’s just another ingredient in chasing the title.

Knaus has proven to be master of that game.

He’s a true mechanic in that he understands the inner workings of the car and the subtle changes needed to make it better on the track. He’s a genius when it comes to pit strategy and calls in general over the course of the race. He’s both a cheerleader and the voice of reason droning calmly in the ears of driver Jimmie Johnson and his crew. He’s clever and edgy, a man unafraid to take a chance when he needs to — and supremely confident in the ability of his driver to handle those.

Perhaps he and Johnson share that Zen kind of relationship that marks the great combinations over history. Clearly, they carry an ever-increasing level of respect and trust in each other.

Knaus’ raw talent combined with nonsensical logic and pure faith have vaulted him among the elite in the sport — not just by today’s standards, but by those of teams over the years. As Knaus celebrates his fifth consecutive Cup title this week in Las Vegas, he finds himself among increasingly limited company.

While Johnson is garnering the lion’s share of attention, Knaus has somewhat quietly moved to second on the all-time list of crew chief championships. He trails only Dale Inman, who won eight titles (seven with Richard Petty, one with Terry Labonte), in Cup championships and is the only one to ever win five in a row.

Johnson, for his part, is quick to point to Knaus’ role in the series of titles.

“I think that as time goes on, people will really look back and appreciate what we have done as a team,” Johnson said. “And the way I feel for Chad, the way I feel for my team and these guys that put their heart and soul into this, they cannot get enough attention, respect, their fair share of compliments, it is impossible, because it is a team sport. My team makes this happen. I'm lucky that I get to climb in there and drive the wheel. I'm a piece of the puzzle. He deserves everything he gets and even more.

“I think it's tough to really look at it when we are in the moment but someday when we are retired and we come back and we are making crazy comments like (Darrell Waltrip) and Jeff Hammond, guys will say, ‘Wow, you guys did X, Y and Z.’ I guess we will be on the fun wave and enjoy it. Until then, we will just keep working hard.”

Although Knaus was a crew chief in the Sprint Cup ranks before working with Johnson, it is during his tenure with the driver that he has reached a high level of success. Knaus, 39, is a product of Hendrick’s successful system. He was a tire changer on Jeff Gordon’s original Rainbow Warriors pit crew and played a role in Gordon’s 1995 and 1997 titles. He left the organization in 1998 and later became a crew chief for Melling Racing and driver Stacy Compton in 2000.

He returned to Hendrick in 2002 to work with rookie driver Johnson. Since then, things have really taken off for the pair. They have never finished worse than fifth in the overall series standings. They were the series’ runner-up twice and finished fifth twice before beginning their title dominance. They watched and they had titles slip away — and they learned.

“It’s not like he doesn’t have a ton of experience in getting this done,” analyst and championship crew chief Hammond said of Knaus.

Together, Knaus and Johnson have won 53 Cup races. They have 203 top-10 finishes, 134 of them top fives, and have snared 25 pole positions. And, of course, the five consecutive titles.

They have done so with a combination of talent and technique — and a driven work ethic.

That shows clearly in their approach to the Chase each year — and to the season in general.

Knaus’ commitment and dedication are beyond question. That was clear in the moments after he and Johnson earned their fifth title — and Knaus was already thinking about the potential for a sixth. That thought process is part of the reason he and Johnson have ruled the sport for half a decade — and are already being pointed to as the ones to watch in 2011.

“Here's the facts,” he said in his news conference immediately following the season finale. “The 2010 season ended two hours ago. And 2011 started two hours ago.

“We have started preparing at Hendrick Motorsports for next year and we are full force to make sure that we take a better product to the racetrack next year, and it's going to be so. So we are hard at it.”