[jamminj]

So, Knaus will be returning to the #48 team this week at Bristol. I have to agree with David Newton from this weeks Track Smack on NASCAR.com:

"Knaus has to feel like the other woman at this point. And Jimmie has to be looking at Darian like the new girlfriend, somebody new and interesting."

You just know that if JJ starts losing races, Chad's going to be pinned as the reason. Poor Knaus. Stuck between a rock and Bristol.

[Lefty Noob]

Excellent way to sum it up. Knaus clearly is in a no win situation here. If JJ keeps winning, that's all well and good, but he proved he could do that without Knaus. If JJ starts losing, then it looks like his fault, maybe not to the hardcore, intelligent racing fans like you guys but to the more casual ones and certainly to the media. It'll be fun to see how this plays out.

[Tin Can]

Lefty Noob, Ditto on that...

[38SadlerFan]

Speed Channel had a big story on the changing role of the Crew Chief in regards to Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. Banning Chad from the track was actually a good thing for the team. That way, he could stay at home and work in the shop on the next week's cars instead of having to travel with the team and worry about the race. It gave them a leg up. Jimmie also made the comment that Darian was much calmer during the race than Chad normally is which works well with his driving style. There was a big debate on whether or not other teams would see this and make some changes to keep their crew chiefs closer to home for setting up the cars.

[Tin Can]

38SadlerFan that is interesting I do not have speed channel so thanks for posting that.

[rave20]

Man I think you guys have it all wrong. Well actually you are right in that the perception of people will be what you say, but the reality I think, is different. As a leader you do your job well when you train others and organize or manage well enough that the business or team can function smoothly without you...for awhile. When I heard about the penalty and people crying will this effect JJ, will it ruin his chance for the chase I thought, are you kidding?

First, I didn't think they'd miss a beat BUT if they would, it would show up around April. Why? Because they spent all winter getting ready for the start of the season. Now they begin to enter the next phase. Fortunately for them, they haven't torn up any cars so they aren't behind in that regard. Also, it isn't like Chad was banished from all communication with the team. He has stil been involved. If Hendrick can't function smoothly for awhile without one individual then they have a HUGE problem.

I don't mean to take anything away from Chad's fill in guy, obviously he did well. Again though, that is as much a credit to Chad as anything. If you see them start to stumble over the next few weeks it isn't because Chad is back. It's because he was gone. But then again, I don't think you'll see them stumble because he really wasn't ever really gone.

[38SadlerFan]

We upgraded our Dish service to the next higher package just so we could get Speed Channel. I don't know what we'd watch without it (it's really the only thing my husband and I can agree on--besides Game Show Network)

[Nevadastars]

I agree with Rave20. Remember when Ray Evernham left the 24 team? I believe they won the next two races in a row. They were still running Evernham prepared cars. After those couple of races, they struggled for nearly a year and Gordon was a mid-packer at best. These teams dont rely on their crewchiefs at the track. The cars are setup at the shop, then slightly tweaked at the track. Most of the guys that run up front are cars that are fast off the trailer. With Knaus still with the 48 team at the shop......they really didnt lose anything, and the penalty for cheating was obviously very inadaquate.

Evernham is trying a new concept this year, where the teams have no particular crew chief, but a small group of engineers that are all working together on the cars. No single person is calling the shots. So far its working well for Kahne, but Mayfield and Riggs are struggling. We'll see how it pans out.

[drnascar48]

Yes Chad is back and I am a happy Jimmie Johnson fan.

[LSC9901]

Regardless of what reality is I think that any losses by JJ will be viewed negatively by the fans in respect to Chad. Wins and losses aren't always determined by how good the crew chief is or any other member of the "team". Keep in mind that accidents occur that the best drivers cannot avoid. None of that will make any difference when they look at the stats and say that Knaus came back on such and such a date and JJ started his decline at that point. Time will tell.

[rave20]

Well I assure you of one thing...if that fan perception also belongd to the race team (which I promise you it does not) Chad would be employed within a second of unemployment!

[Nevadastars]

I've said this before, but there was a rumor floating around (I think on Jayski) that Ray Evernham may be trying to lure Knaus away from Hendrick. They worked together on the 24 team in Gordons glory years.
Some think Knaus may be trying to get out of his contract. Like I said, this is strictly a rumor, but anything is possible in Nascar.

[LSC9901]

150 laps into the 500 laps and JJ is 12 laps down to the leader. Where is Darien Grubb now when you need him.

[Nevadastars]

Knaus didnt cut that tire, or hit the wall cutting Kenseth off, which is why Johnson is down so many laps.

[Lefty Noob]

Unsurprisingly, the AP wasted little time releasing a story about how "terrible" Knaus' return went.

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) -- Chad Knaus' return to the race track was far from triumphant. In fact, it was pretty terrible.

Knaus, who sat out a four-race suspension for cheating during Daytona 500 preparations, had barely settled into his seat on top of Jimmie Johnson's pit box before things went wrong for his race team.

Johnson ran into another car on the first lap Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the contact cut his left front tire. He had to pit for repairs and quickly dropped two laps off the pace. He never had a chance to recover, slamming into the wall on lap 125 to cause extensive damage to his Chevrolet.

By the time Knaus' crew fixed it, Johnson was 10 laps down.

``That kind of stuff happens at these race tracks,'' Knaus shrugged. ``It's a tough race track. It's tough racing even if everything is going well for you.''

It's hardly the return Knaus was looking for. The team won two races and took the points lead during his absence, but left Bristol third in the standings after Johnson's 30th-place finish.

Like we were saying, anything other than a Johnson win, and people would be trying to find some way to tie it to Knaus' return. And sure enough, those AP folks obliged, and we didn't even have to wait until morning for it!