Knaus returns to track, ready to get back to work
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
March 24, 2006
10:01 PM EST (03:01 GMT)


BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Crew chief Chad Knaus returned to the track Friday after a four-week suspension, greeted by a cold rain that washed out all activity at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"I'm ready to get the car out there," he said, sipping coffee. "It's been a long time."

NASCAR suspended Knaus for the season's first four races after finding improper changes to Jimmie Johnson's car during Daytona 500 preparations. He had to watch Johnson win the Super Bowl of racing on TV.

"The Daytona 500 was tough, tough, tough," he said. "I am not going to lie to you, I had a tear in my eye."

It didn't get any easier as Johnson went on to finish second the next week in California, win another race at Las Vegas, then finish sixth last week in Atlanta to take a 50-point lead in the standings.

The Hendrick Motorsports team that Knaus built from the ground up was thriving without him, and there was nothing he could do to join the party.

"When you are sitting there on the couch and you are listening to 'TrackPass,' you are hearing the drivers saying this and drivers saying that, you just jump up and down and say out loud 'Pull some air pressure out of there!' " Knaus said. "You just want to say something to somebody, but there is no one there to listen.

"Man, it was tough. But it is what I had to deal with."

His candor and emotion Friday was a clear shift from his unrepentant attitude a month ago when Hendrick had him publicly discuss the suspension during a national conference call. He deflected several opportunities that day to take responsibility for Johnson's car failing an inspection.

"There's a lot of things out there that can be called intentional," he said that day. "The fact of the matter is when NASCAR went back it didn't fit the templates. How that happens is pretty irrelevant."

Given a chance again to admit culpability, Knaus had clearly softened.

"If it doesn't fit the template at any point in time, it is wrong," Knaus said. "It is wrong. I hate that. I regret that. Sometimes you just push too hard. There are procedures that you follow in our industry, as a competitor you try to evolve with that and try to find an advantage on your competition.

"That is what I did and they didn't like it. So I watched on TV for a while and read the papers."

It's unclear what effect his return will have on the team. Lead engineer Darian Grubb did a remarkable job filling in for Knaus, and there's been speculation Knaus' return might disrupt the momentum.

However, the workaholic crew chief had a very heavy hand in readying his team each week. He spent most of the offseason preparing for the start of the season, and every week during his suspension he put together a meticulous plan for the team to follow. He also burned up the phone lines, giving Johnson and Grubb advice and support before each race.

It's left to be seen if Knaus can continue the roll for No. 48 -- the first test is Sunday's race at Bristol. But he's clearly ready to go after two years of coming up short in the race for the Nextel Cup title. Knaus suffered serious burnout during each of those failed title runs, and has promised to avoid that this season.

"I am my own worst enemy, I really am," he said. "You guys know my passion for this sport and how deep it goes, how critical I am of myself.

"So what I have to do as an individual, from not only my professional standpoint, but my personal standpoint as well, is I have to be able to pull back, take a day off. Because just like everybody else in the world, I do need a little bit of rest."