1. Chad Anthony Knaus is an American former NASCAR crew chief.
28 Facts About Chad Knaus
1. 2.
Chad Knaus is currently employed at Hendrick Motorsports as the Vice President of Competition.
3.
Chad Knaus has been a crew chief in NASCAR for 19 years and is considered to be one of the greatest NASCAR crew chiefs of all time.
4.
Chad Knaus was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 19,2024.
5.
In 1999, Chad Knaus moved to Melling Racing after Evernham, who had just left Hendrick Motorsports, invited him to lead the Dodge development team.
6.
In 2001, Compton and Chad Knaus started in the front row for the Daytona 500, took the pole position at the Talladega 500, and qualified third at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
7.
Chad Knaus returned to Hendrick Motorsports for the 2002 season, becoming crew chief of the No 48 car driven by rookie driver Jimmie Johnson.
8.
Johnson and Chad Knaus put the organization on their backs as they won the following race at Atlanta which was their third in a row.
9.
In 2006, Johnson and Chad Knaus won their first Cup Series championship with 5 wins, 13 top 5s, and 24 top 10s.
10.
In 2009, Chad Knaus shared 13 top-fives, 20 top-tens, six wins, and 1 DNF with Johnson as they won their record fourth championship in a row.
11.
Johnson and Chad Knaus scored 5 wins, 18 top 5's, and 24 top 10's and finished 3rd in the Cup Series standings in 2012.
12.
Johnson and Chad Knaus won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte to pick up their first win of 2014 and automatically locking themselves into the chase.
13.
Johnson and Chad Knaus started the chase in 2nd behind Brad Keselowski and made it through the Round of 16 with ease.
14.
Johnson and Chad Knaus scored four wins, 11 top 5's and 20 top 10's and finished 11th in the final standings.
15.
In 2015, Johnson and Chad Knaus won four races in the regular season and placed first in the standings when the chase began.
16.
Johnson and Chad Knaus scored 5 wins, 14 top 5's, and 22 top 10's while they finished 10th in the standings.
17.
In 2016, Johnson and Chad Knaus only won two races during the regular season and were 6th in the standings when the chase began.
18.
Johnson and Chad Knaus were able to get through the Round of 16 and advanced to the Round of 12.
19.
Johnson took the lead from Kyle Larson on the restart and Johnson won the race giving him and Chad Knaus their record-tying 7th Cup Series championship putting Johnson alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most Cup Series titles.
20.
Johnson and Chad Knaus scored 5 wins, 11 top 5's and 17 top 10's en route to their 7th Cup Series title.
21.
Johnson and Chad Knaus scored 3 wins, 4 top 5's, and 11 top 10's in 2017 whole finishing in 10th in the standings.
22.
Johnson and Chad Knaus scored no wins, two top 5's, and 11 top 10's and finished 14th in the standings.
23.
On October 10,2018, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Chad Knaus would move to the No 24 team of William Byron in 2019, ending his 16-year partnership with Johnson after 83 wins and seven NASCAR Cup Championships.
24.
Chad Knaus appealed, but lost, returning at Texas three weeks later.
25.
Chad Knaus again found himself at the center of controversy during the road race debut of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
26.
Chad Knaus was fined $100,000 and was suspended for six races.
27.
Chad Knaus was a regular commentator on NASCAR Performance, a program that was broadcast each race weekend on Speed.
28.
Chad Knaus has appeared in several television commercials for Kobalt Tools by Lowe's, the primary sponsor of the No 48 car at the time.