Knowledge, tenacity has driven Knaus atop NASCAR

Now in their sixth season together, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are in the cusp of winning their second title in as many years. Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Chad Knaus was an unheralded 30-year-old when Rick Hendrick chose him to be crew chief for Jimmie Johnson's rookie season in Nextel (then Winston) Cup in 2002.

It wasn't a conventional choice for the young Johnson, who had only three races under his belt, which likely would have called for an experienced hand. Knaus didn't come close to that description. His only season on top of the pit box had been in 2001 with Stacy Compton at Melling Racing, as they finished 33rd in the points with one top 10 in 34 races.

But six seasons later, they are the dominant duo in NASCAR, with 33 victories, including 10 this season, and are on the verge of becoming back-to-back Cup champions. Johnson is 86 points ahead of teammate Jeff Gordon and can clinch the title by finishing 18th or better Sunday in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Though untested as a crew chief when he joined forced with Johnson,Knaus had already spent nearly a decade working in Cup, including a stint from 1993 to '97 at Hendrick, where he was a tire changer on the original Rainbow Warriors of Jeff Gordon's No. 24 for two championships. Knaus also was a fabricator at Hendrick and was the head of the department when he left for DEI, where he was a car chief for Steve Park and Michael Waltrip. Next came stops with Tyler Jet Motorsports, Ray Evernham's Dodge development team and Melling.

It was a rapid rise through the ranks, particularly for someone with no connection to NASCAR prior to '91, when he found employment with Stanley Smith's part-time Cup team.

Though he didn't bring a long list of references to Smith, he brought a knowledge of racing that pulsed through his veins. Father John Knaus has been a race-winning driver for 30 years on the short tracks of the Midwest, and, at age 57, is still a formidable force, as he proved in winning a Late Model feature and a heat race at Rockford (Ill.) Speedway in September, one of three starts at the track this season.

It was at John's side that Chad learned the anatomy of a racecar, working with his dad for years in a garage next to the family home in Rockford.

"He's always been around it," John said. "He'd lay on my stomach on the creeper and we'd go under the car. As long as I was in the garage, he'd be in the garage. Chad was always willing to help. When he got holder, 16 and 17, I'd say, 'That's enough for today,' and he'd say, 'I'm going to stay and work on a few more things.'"

By that time, the younger Knaus was already a veteran of the pits, having begun working at Rockford at age 14, when he was listed as the car's crew chief.

"That was the earliest we could get him into the pits legally," John said. "[Calling him the] crew chief is iffy. I'd call all the shots, but he'd make the changes."

But as they won three track championships at Rockford together, Chad began making some of the calls, too. "He had his own ideas and most of the time, they were good ideas," John said. "We ran bias ply tires at the time and stagger was a big deal and he got really good at that."

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