Knaus: I really wanted to be Jeff Gordon’s crew chief
The pair has been one of NASCAR's most famous — and longest standing — driver-crew chief combinations for the past 13 years. They've been through hills and valleys together — from the famous "milk and cookies" conversation instigated by team owner Rick Hendrick during one of the duo's low points, to the six championships they've won in the years following the peace-making exchange.
So what if Knaus had been paired with a different driver? Say, Johnson's teammate — Jeff Gordon.
It certainly would have been Knaus' dream back in the day.
"It makes me realize how old I am when I hear Jeff talking about retirement," Knaus joked. "It's been a great time working with Jeff — He's such a great guy. We've accomplished a lot together.
"I always wanted to be Jeff Gordon's crew chief."
Wait, what?
But it makes sense. Knaus was part of the Gordon's famed "Rainbow Warriors" pit crew back in the 90's, serving as a tire changer during his 1995 and 1997 championship seasons.
"We won our first race together — the 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway," Knaus said. "We won the Daytona 500 together a couple of times, we got two championships together, we won the inaugural Brickyard 400 together. So we did an awful lot together."
But Knaus says that he's still fulfilling his past aspiration in some fashion.
"In a sideways way, I am (his crew chief) because he owns our race team," Knaus said, referencing Gordon's ownership of the No. 48 team.
"It's going to be sad to see him get out of the race car for sure because he contributes to our industry in so many different ways. He's not just a great race car driver — he's a great person, a great personality, he does things in New York with different TV shows. Just different venues that a lot of other drivers don't have the look or the demeanor or the charisma to even pull off. So there's going to be a void there and it will be interesting to see how we fill that void." NASCAR.com