From the Marbles - NASCAR

From the Marbles

Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:39 pm EDT

Revealed at last: the secret origin of Chad Knaus!

By Carol Fitzgerald

[Editor's note: Carol Fitzgerald continues her look at various personalities within NASCAR, today looking at the man behind the curtain for Jimmie Johnson's 48 team -- crew chief Chad Knaus. --JB]

Where did this Chad Knaus guy come from, anyway?

Turns out he did not in fact spring full-grown from the head of a god.

Chad grew up in racing, which somehow does not come as a big surprise. His father John won seven Late-Model championships at Rockford Speedway in Illinois. And where was young Chad during this time? Oh, he started crew-chiefing for his father when he was 14, and helped him to win those seven championships!

After that he decided he was ready for the big time. He landed his first "real job" with the 24 team of Jeff Gordon, with Ray Evernham as crew chief. Chad started out as a tire-changer, and then went from general fabrication to managing the entire chassis and body construction program during the '95 and '97 championship years. This might be where he got his penchant for fooling around with body configurations.

Chad then went and did a gig as a car chief with DEI, and spent a little time leading the Dodge Development team, before being lured back to HMS in 2002, to crew chief for some young rookie, a kid by the name of Jimmie Johnson.

And the rest, as they say, is history. (See more about Chad's history right here.) Chad and Jimmie formed a darn-near unbeatable combination, and have not finished a a season ranked lower than 5th since. Love them or hate them, you have to admire their ability to win, and keep winning ad nauseam consistently.

Tune in next week for the next episode in this enthralling saga!

Related: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson

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29 Comments

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  1. anthony m
    1. Posted by anthony m Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:55 pm EDT

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    Very informative article, Carol. I've always enjoyed these articles that show the roots of the people we follow so closely. As always, a BIG thumbs-up, girl. Keep 'em coming!!!
  2. Dale
    2. Posted by Dale Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:26 pm EDT

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    Look at the Contributors; Honey your a star now! ;-)
  3. Carol
    3. Posted by Carol Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:29 pm EDT

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    ;-d
  4. Kim
    4. Posted by Kim Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:38 pm EDT

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    Whoooohooooo! Go, Carol!!! Great article...but I still believe that Chad and Jimmie are aliens and not using earthly technology. ;-)
  5. Carol
    5. Posted by Carol Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:56 pm EDT

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    Where did my capital "D" go?
    ;-D
  6. sharon
    6. Posted by sharon Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:04 pm EDT

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    About time you got a by-line. Yea!
  7. miss priss
    7. Posted by miss priss Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:03 pm EDT

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    great article Carol.
  8. Gators #1 Nuff Said
    8. Posted by Gators #1 Nuff Said Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:54 pm EDT

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    ya know Carol thats real good now ya gotta ask them for some cash LOL
  9. novice
    9. Posted by novice Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:00 pm EDT

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    While some fans still call Chad a "cheater" the rest of us acknowledge him as the best crew chief the sport has ever known. Few fans believe Johnson is the main reason for the team's 48 success which is another way of saying any of the other Chasers would be just as successful if they were driving the 48. So thanks mostly to Chad's expertise at Chase tracks, the 48 is a dynasty.
    What have other sports done when dynasty's result in fewer eyeballs? They change the rules. The NFL, NBA, & MLB have relied on schemes of more wild card teams, revenue sharing & luxury taxes to improve the competition. Only NASCAR ignores the need to change.
    The biggest single change NASCAR must address this off-season is the track assignments for next yr's Chase. The same 10 tracks = another 48 team championship which is something many race fans don't want. Changing the Chase tracks will at least give Chad more of a challenge.
  10. Carol
    10. Posted by Carol Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:29 pm EDT

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    Eyeballs?
  11. meatwad the great and all powerful ruler of earth
    11. Posted by meatwad the great and all powerful ruler of earth Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:33 pm EDT

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    interesting. good article. although...i think it would've been amusing if he had sprung fully grown out of the womb.
  12. kinggeorge
    12. Posted by kinggeorge Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:51 pm EDT

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    You know I have to do this Carol....what's with the double "a" in the final paragraph? You'd think a professional writter like yourself would have a staff of flunkies to catch that stuff. :b
    Great job Carol, love the info. Keep'um coming. When do the Yahoo checks start arriving?
    @MEATWAD!!!!!!! Wassup buddy? Hope all is well. Have to get back to work, send me an update.
  13. meatwad the great and all powerful ruler of earth
    13. Posted by meatwad the great and all powerful ruler of earth Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:08 pm EDT

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    king!!!!!!! ssup!!!!!!! will do, bro.
  14. meatwad the great and all powerful ruler of earth
    14. Posted by meatwad the great and all powerful ruler of earth Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:38 pm EDT

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    just did. ttyl, bro.
  15. Rudy88
    15. Posted by Rudy88 Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:25 am EDT

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    Carol - Nice work!! Great research! Interesting article! You may have missed your calling:)
    meatwad the great - Good to see you back on here " chewing the fat ". I take it you got a job. Been quite a while since I've seen your meat sucking articles! Good to have you back.
  16. Rudy88
    16. Posted by Rudy88 Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:27 am EDT

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    That was supposed to say "meat sucking comments", but I guess articles will work also!
  17. Oliver Klosov
    17. Posted by Oliver Klosov Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:43 am EDT

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    Jay-bird has had a feather up his arse for quite some time, when it comes to anything related to HMS... dude, get over it... they rule!!
  18. Jay Busbee
    18. Posted by Jay Busbee Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:04 am EDT

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    @ Oliver, this is a dumb comment even for you--don't you remember commenting on the all-hail-JJ post I wrote last week? (P.S. Bylines. Read 'em. You'll look marginally less foolish that way.)
  19. razz
    19. Posted by razz Mon Oct 26, 2009 11:49 am EDT

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    Good article Carol. I agree that this team can be sickening at times and I don't have to admire them winning so much. Keep up the good work.
  20. DICK SMOTHERS
    20. Posted by DICK SMOTHERS Mon Oct 26, 2009 1:19 pm EDT

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    I think jimmie johnson and kurt busch need to partner up to form "busch-johnson" racing.
  21. Willy Doer
    21. Posted by Willy Doer Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:04 pm EDT

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    DS, The irony that these 2 are named after genitalia. Ha Ha Ha!!
  22. cg5995
    22. Posted by cg5995 Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:50 pm EDT

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    Good article once again Carol =)
    I think Chad Knaus is a very smart man and truly lives for racing, that is what makes him so good. He has earned every thing he has acheived. For those that b!itch about his" cheating" ( I mean its not like hes using jet fuel or magnets) I bet deep down they all wish he was thier drivers crew chief!!
  23. CHARLES M
    23. Posted by CHARLES M Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:09 pm EDT

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    Yea, Carol! You got the byline..........great job. Hope this is the
    start of a new & lucrative career for you......Judy T.

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