Knaus re-signs with Hendrick Motorsports

Knaus and his wife

CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 48 LOWE’S FOR PROS CAMARO ZL1 DISCUSSES HIS CONTRACT EXTENSION:

SO, YOU HAVE RESIGNED YOUR CONTRACT TO CONTINUE TO CREW CHIEF THE NO. 48. DID YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OF NOT EXTENDING?
“No, not really. Obviously, Jimmie (Johnson) and I have a, although going through a bit of a slump right now, we have a great time racing together. We have a long relationship and enjoyed everything 48. So, no not really it was pretty easy."

HAS THE WINLESS STREAK MOTIVATED YOU MORE OR LESS?
“I wouldn’t say one way or the other. Obviously, I’m a very competitive person and if we go three weeks without winning I’m frustrated. It’s just a matter of going out there and competing. I love to compete. The winless streak right now, yeah although it’s not where we want to be by any stretch of the imagination it is where we are. It’s our reality right now and we’ve got to fight through it."

HOW COME YOU AND JIMMIE HAVE LASTED TWICE AS LONG AS ANY OTHER CREW CHIEF PAIRING?
“It probably has a lot to do with Jimmie’s patience. He is a very tolerant individual (laughs). I think that has a lot to do with it, but I think Jimmie and I we have gotten to the point where we really understand one another. There is not a big question on the effort or the amount of effort that is going in from one side nor the other. We deeply care for one another obviously, families, daughters, and I have a son coming, so we have grown a lot together through life and I think that has a lot to do with it."

IS WINNING AN EIGHTH TITLE AND SETTING THAT MARK TOGETHER SOMETHING THAT IS MOTIVATING FOR YOU OR ARE YOU MORE OF A WEEK TO WEEK KIND OF MOTIVATION?
“I would say that in years past it was maybe more just focusing on the next week. But I think I would be foolish and lying to not admit the fact that to get eight championships and to put Jimmie on a pedestal by himself at the top of the standings with championships is not a huge desire of mine and something I definitely want to try to achieve."

IN THE PAST YOU HAVE TOLD PEOPLE YOU DIDN’T THINK YOU WOULD DO THIS BEYOND AGE 50. ARE YOU LOOKING TO DO THIS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN YOU THOUGHT?
“It depends on how well my son sleeps at night I guess. The less he sleeps at night the more I will probably want to stay on the road (laughs). I don’t know what is going to happen. We have signed for two more years. That lines me up with Jimmie and Jimmie’s contract. That is nice to be in that same space as him. Beyond that, you just don’t know."

DID YOU SIGN RECENTLY?
“I did."

SO, LIKE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS?
“Yes."

WAS IT IMPORTANT TO GET THAT DONE AS MUCH BECAUSE THE TEAM IS STILL LOOKING FOR SPONSORS AND IF SPONSORS HAVE ANY QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER YOU ALL WOULD BE TOGETHER MOVING FORWARD?
“Yeah of course. I mean I wouldn’t want to say this that it was a big determining factor it was just time. The time for the contract was expiring and time to get it set up again with Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports. The sponsorship thing, obviously this shows that we have stability between Jimmie and I moving forward which I think is obviously appealing to anybody as we are going to battle and vying for our eighth title. I think anybody would be foolish not to want to be on board with that."

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN’T A CREW CHIEF?
“I don’t know. Right now, if I’m not a crew chief all I’m going to focus on is being a good Husband and Father."

I DIDN’T KNOW IF THERE WAS SOME OTHER THING THAT WAS TUGGING AT YOU YET WHETHER IT’S TEAM ADMINISTRATION OR MEDIA STUFF:
“No, I don’t know. I do enjoy TV that is fun. I think it’s great exposure for myself and our sponsors and for Hendrick Motorsports and it’s definitely good for me to get that experience doing that. I love motorsports and the technical side of racing and the strategy and calling races and building race cars. I think I’ve got a lot of opportunities to do a lot of things in the future, but right now we are focused on trying to get the ship righted at Hendrick Motorsports and get our cars qualifying and racing a little bit better. And that is my primary goal."