48 Gets Pole at Dega

Jimmie Johnson will be starting on the pole tomorrow, due to a rain-out of qualifying today, per NASCAR.com.

I loved this tongue-in-cheek quote from Mike Sulka at PaddockTalk.com:

"Clearly, Hendrick crew chief Chad Knaus and the team have found another grey-area in the rules that allows the them to produce rain during the 'Chase' to create a more favorable starting position than they had expected. No one could be this lucky... could they?"

Oh, but Mike, did you forget that it's Halloween? It's not luck or any grey area in the rules; it's just that Chad's black magic is especially strong today of all days! Obviously, he conjured up a rain cloud out of thin air using his secret voodoo powers so his car could sit on the pole, of course!

On a somewhat more serious note, Happy Halloween, everybody!  Have fun, whatever your plans may be.

Tissot Pit Road Award - Martinsville

From Jayski.com:

"Johnson's Crew Claims Tissot Pit Road Award in Martinsville: Jimmie Johnson's crew took top honors at Martinsville Speedway, winning the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday's Sprint Cup race. It was the fourth Tissot win of the season for the #48 crew, which has played a key role in Johnson's dominating performance in the first six Chase races, including his runner-up finish at Martinsville. Johnson's #48 Lowe's Chevy spent the least amount of time on pit road (329.445 seconds) during the TUMS Fast Relief 500. Johnson's over-the-wall crew consists of: Mike Lingerfelt (front-tire changer), Art Simmons (front-tire carrier), Jon Lucas (rear-tire changer), Andy Brown (rear-tire carrier), Kenneth Purcell (jackman), Rich Gutierrez (gasman), Mike Knauer (catch can) and Ron Malec (eighth man). The team's crew chief is Chad Knaus. Johnson's crew along with the crews of Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon are in a close competition for the Tissot season title with four races remaining. Biffle's crew leads with six wins, Gordon's crew is second with five wins and Johnson's crew is in third with four wins."

Congrats, guys!  Keep up the good work. And good luck at Talladega next week ('cause you're gonna need it)! I have mixed feelings about Dega. On one hand, I love it because it's always exciting as heck (sometimes a little too exciting, like in April), but on the other, ugh, you never know who's going to be left at the end.  Hopefully Jimmie and Tony will get through okay...I'd really just be happy with a top 15 finish for either of them, to be honest.

And this is totally off-topic, but I really hope this is the end of Carl's acrobatics streak...I don't know how much more of that I can take before I have a heart attack!  I hope Brad can keep his shirt on this time, but considering all the similar moves he's made since that little trick he pulled in April, I have to say I'm a little worried.  Hopefully he'll cool it since he's on everybody's list after last week's Nationwide race.

Photoshoot Time!

The official Team Lowe's Racing page on Facebook just put up some great photos from the Kobalt Tools Apparel photoshoot (check out the Kobalt stuff here), and they tagged along at the 2010 official photoshoot and took some snapshots there.  Here are the ones we're all primarily interested in:

Kobalt Tools Photoshoot

 I just had to put one of Ron Malec in there because he's a hottie too, and the other two (Greg Ives, team engineer & Pete Michel, shock specialist) are pretty darn cute as well.

Official 2010 Photoshoot Snapshots

Apparently we have to wait until 2010 to see the real deals, but TLR was nice enough to give us a few teasers.  Here's one to start you off, and here are the links to the rest of the pics since I think I'm going to run out of room to post any more photos.

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4

To see the non-Chad photos, search for Team Lowe's Racing on Facebook, click Become a Fan, and go to their photo albums.

Martinsville Photos

Slim pickins for photos this week, unfortunately.  And "grrr" at the watermark on the second one, but what can ya do?  Cool shot, though...I like how they got the Chase flag in there and everything.

This is totally random, but while we're on the subject of pictures, can I just say that I find the captions on Getty Images hilarious? For instance, here's a photo from Atlanta:

And the caption reads: "Jimmie Johnson (L), driver of the #48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet speaks with crew chief Chad Knaus (R)." Lol, "speaks with"? How very, er, understated and generous of you! It's probably a good thing I don't work for Getty Images, because I don't think I could stop myself from writing descriptions like, "Jimmie Johnson (L), driver of the #48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet says something boneheaded which causes crew chief Chad Knaus (R) to give him the evil eye."

Or here's one from Loudon, the original caption being: "Chad Knaus, crew chief for the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson, looks on during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 blah blah etc."

"Looks on." Well, yes, he's definitely looking on, I suppose, but when I read that I'm expecting to see a pic of Chad sorta half looking at his watch and wondering when he can sneak off for a cheeseburger, instead of an "Oh Christ, Jimmie! What are you doing?!" kind of look (hey, just like the Lowe's commercial! ...you don't have to wonder why he sounds so convincing in it, lol).

I'd like to call this, "Chad Knaus, crew chief for the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson, tries to not to blow a gasket while his driver makes room where there isn't any." Or whatever Jimmie was doing that was causing him to look like he needs one of Rick Ren's Tums. Lol, maybe Tum's sponsors the Martinsville race for a reason, since it's such a pain for the crews! Maybe they pass out free Tum's to all the crew chiefs before the race...hey, you could get Revlon to chip in and make little packages for them, with nail files for their bitten-off fingernails and Tum's for their nervous stomachs. A bottle of Jack sounds like a good deal, too, but only for AFTER the race, lol.

Rebuttal to Some Chad Criticism

I'd like to take a moment to address an article I found while cruising around for Chad news to bring to you guys:

For whom the bell tolls: Jimmie Johnson or Chad Knaus? (Janelle Jalbert, Examiner.com)

Now, I could spend the entire day writing responses to articles that criticize Chad, but this one was especially mind-boggling, so I thought I'd take the time to put my thoughts into words and try to understand it better. The article's premise is that the reason for all the 48 hate is not, in fact, Jimmie's fault because supposedly he's too vanilla, but rather Chad's fault because...well, the article isn't especially clear on that. Here's what the article does say about Chad:

"While on Twitter during the Charlotte pre-race, it was funny to see NASCAR fans and media alike make repeated comments about the fact that if the television has to show Hendrick, Hendrick and more Hendrick, then they need to stick with Johnson and leave Knaus under the hood or atop the war wagon. Let’s face it; while many see Johnson as vanilla, it is Knaus’s demeanor that often grates on the nerves of NASCAR aficionados.

This is not a discussion of merit, but rather an acknowledgement of the emotional tide. Could fan discontent be more a result of sentiment for Knaus rather than a distain [sic] for Johnson as a driver? Just a thought…"

So basically, according to some people on Twitter, he's on TV too much and has a demeanor that grates on the nerves of fans. Well, obviously I have a completely biased opinion on this, and I could just say I personally think Chad is great and leave it at that, but I'd like to be a little more thorough than this article, so click the link below to read my thoughts on the subject.

Martinsville News

Jimmie took 2nd today at Martinsville behind Virginia native Denny Hamlin, which widened his points lead to 118 over Mark Martin. Okay, up until this race I've been unwilling to just hand over the championship trophy to the 48 guys. I've been saying that the season is not over, anybody could do anything in the upcoming races, it was closer than it ever has been up until Charlotte, etc. etc. Not because of any prejudice against the 48 team (obviously, or I wouldn't be here), but because I honestly didn't think it was a sure deal for them.

Now, however, I think I'm beginning to change my mind. I know we've got Talladega coming right up next week, but a 118 point lead? And 4th place is a whole race behind in points? I've got to say, whatever you think about the man himself, Jimmie's chances are looking reeeeal good right now. Before this race, I think it was a little premature to say that, but as of Martinsville, I think it's safe to say that Jimmie is in all likelihood going to take that 4th championship in a row.

Here's what Chad had to say about the race (from CBS Sports):

"You can win them all, for sure. But it's very difficult to do. For us to come home second, another top five, I'm really pleased." "We had a good car. We had a great car in practice and thought we had a car that was capable of winning the race and we did. We didn't get it just right at the end of the race." "There were points in that race where we were by far the fastest car. You just can't win them at all, as much I would like to beat the person that had to have said that."

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A couple of articles from this week:

• Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus: Racing Outside the Nascar Rulebook? (BleacherReport.com) Yet more accusations of cheating...this time it's supposedly breaking rules NASCAR doesn't even have. I LOVE the pic they found to go with the article, though - I have to say, that devilish grin does make him look like he's capable of just about anything, hehehe.
• Revealed at last: the secret origin of Chad Knaus! (Yahoo! Sports) Cute title, but nothing the casual fan didn't already know about him
• Hamlin holds off Johnson for Martinsville victory (Motorsport.com) More Jimmie- than Chad-related, but has some interesting comments from Denny about racing the 48

Midnight Ramblings

I know, midnight ramblings can be dangerous, right? But I'm just going to go ahead and make a total dork out of myself anyway, hee! Tonight I would like to discuss facial hair. I know, this is totally going to be all over CNN tomorrow - it's THAT BIG A DEAL. Now, as a Tony Stewart fan, I completely approve of the stubble look. Frankly, it's even better when it progresses to the point of being "scruff," in technical terms. However, there has been some dissension, even amongst Smoke fans, whether Jimmie's scruff should get a thumbs up or down (some of the opposition at a certain NASCAR humor site even gave his facial hair a name - Francisco, lmao), but after some serious analysis and major soul searching, I've come to the conclusion that Francisco - er, his scruff, was pretty darn hot. Although, really, I like it even more on Junior. Jimmie doesn't have to bring back Francisco if he doesn't want to, but Viking Dale can come back any ol' time he wants!

What does this have to do with Chad, you say? Well, since I've substantiated that I like this look on just about anybody (except Scott Speed...oy!), it stands to reason that it would look frickin' SMOKIN' on Chad, am I right?! Ladies (and gentlemen, I suppose...I don't discriminate) of the jury, may I present this piece of evidence?

Oh. My. God. Case closed. That's it - Chad, you are hereby not allowed to shave on Sundays anymore, because I think we can all agree we need more of this in our lives. I don't think he needs to keep going to the point of it being serious scruff, à la Smoke and Jimmie, but the stubble? Ohhh yeah!! Now, I know there's that one quote from him about making everybody on the crew look sharp and all for race day, but come on, he bent the rules for Francisco for most of this season, and it's not like it's the FIRST time he's ever broken a couple rules (*evil grin*), and anyway, they're more like guidelines (whoa, I even worked in a Pirates reference), so do it for us, Chad, because seriously, you look sharp no matter what, and this is just plain sexy.

Ok, enough drooling for one night...time for bed!

LMS Crew Chief of the Race

Chad, workin' hard for the money...

Chad won the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award for his efforts last Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway (woohoo!).  That makes 4 wins total, which means he is currently tied with Darian Grubb, crew chief for Tony Stewart's #14 (like you didn't know that) for the big Crew Chief of the Year award that comes at the end of the season.  It's hard for me to pick between those two, but since this is strictly a crew chief thing, I think I can safely say, go, Chad (but don't let him get too far ahead of you, Darian)!  This would be Chad's second win, as he was named Crew Chief of the Year in 2008 as well (but unlike the rest of the media, I am not going to go ahead and give the award to Chad now, because the season is not over, people!  ...yes, even this 48 fan is a little annoyed at all the premature championship conferring).

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, someday I'm going to get around to posting the pics from when I went to see the show car in Irvine.  My profile pic is one, but I've got a bunch more.  I had a slight setback with Photobucket, but I swear I'll get it working here pretty soon.  On the other hand, it's not like Chad's in them or anything, so maybe you don't care that much, but what the heck, I'll save 'em for a slow news day or something.

SPEED Trackside Live Interview

Video from TWIN - JJ's Dominance

Recently, the fur has been flying over the 48 team's domination of NASCAR, and the last two races - both 48 wins - have really put the issue in the spotlight.  Some say it's bad for NASCAR and that they're sick of seeing Johnson win all the time (like at California and Charlotte). Others say it's simply the Johnson era, just like the Petty, Earnhardt, and Gordon eras that came before, and that we're seeing history in the making.

This Week in NASCAR brought up both these issues: whether the race is still exciting if Jimmie wins, and if the 48's kick butt-ness is good for NASCAR.  Here's what Chad had to say about it:

• Is Jimmie Johnson's dominance good for NASCAR?
• Review of Charlotte and the quality of racing in NASCAR

Charlotte News & Photos

Hey hey hey, the 48 gang got 'er done again!  And it was pretty hard-won this time, too, although apparently it was a lot harder for many of the Chasers, considering 6 of them finished outside the top 15.  Still, Jeff and Denny gave him a run for his money, and WOW did he wiggle like crazy on that one restart, but he still came out on top and, according to Chad, he completed the biggest goal of his life (awww!) by winning every practice, qualifying, and the race.  High five, Chad.  If anybody deserves it, it's you.

Oh, and did anybody see Chad on RaceDay?!  Specifically the part where they show him back in the '90s on Jeff-o's team?  AHHH!!!  Too cute!  I didn't think anybody could make those awful Rainbow Warrior firesuits look good, but dayum, Chad WORKS it, baby!!  And then after the first practice, did you see him do that hot little strut back to the garage?  Um, fan please!  Man, this was just an all-around great weekend for TV sightings...  Well, except for the fact that NP got cut off by F1 qualifying, but F1 usually gets the short end of the stick, so I'll let it go this time.

 

Great article/interview with Chad:
Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson: The Perfect Weekend - The Bleacher Report

Video from Lowe's Motor Speedway:
SPEED Victory Lane with Jimmie
Press Pass with Chad and Jimmie
NASCAR Performance (since it got cut off by F1 qualifying)

Chad Quotes

So I'm always hearing about how the 48 guys are so low-key and well-mannered that they're boring. Now, it's true that they tend to keep their shirts on for the media, but if you think they're not passionate enough, I'm here to prove that it just isn't so. In fact, I should warn you - if your virgin ears can't take a few four-letter words, I would recommend that you move on to the next post. If you're up to the challenge, though, just click the "Read more" link.

TV Alert!

Chad Knaus and the 48 crew will be featured in the "Real Deal with Wendy Venturini" segment of NASCAR RaceDay this Saturday, Oct. 17, at 5:00 pm ET on SPEED.

Fontana Photos

Sorry for the hold up, but I had a hard time finding any from last Sunday with Chad in them. That's him on the left in the Victory Lane pics, in case you were wondering...not exactly close-ups, are they?

Here's a video version of the festivities, and of course an interview with Jimmie: SPEED Victory Lane.

EDIT 10/16:  Oh my god, I found one more of Chad at Fontana, and man oh man, is it a winner!  Muahaha, if Jimmie decides to sponsor Matthew Johnson again next year, I think we know what picture he's going to put on the hood!

Chad Gets Rad on X Games Rally Car

Oh my god, this is TOO funny!!! Now here's something you won't hear about on NASCAR.com (obviously, or else I would have bid the heck out of this during the auction).

Back in August, rally car driver Matthew Johnson didn't have any sponsorship for the X Games, so the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, eBay, and a few others (including Travis Pastrana) pitched in to make it happen for him, and let's just say the outcome was pretty rad. The JJ Foundation's part of the deal included decorating the hood of the car with a picture of our very own Chad Knaus - WITH A MULLET! - from 15 years ago, with the caption "Chad Is Rad." L-O-friggin'-L! They also auctioned off a t-shirt with a picture of the hood that was signed by Chad (always the good sport) and Jimmie on eBay. Get the full story (and more pics of the car) at these two links:

Chad Is Rad - BNQT.com
Matthew Johnson post X Games 15 - RallyBuzz.com


The Case-Mate/Nitro Circus "Chad Is Rad" car


The infamous Chad Is Rad t-shirt

Now, I don't see the mullet in the picture myself, but according to the article, it's there (just "no rear view offered," haha). And people ask me why I like Jimmie Johnson...He may seem kind of reserved, but who else surfs on a golf cart and puts a picture of his crew chief with a mullet on a rally car? As Chad knows, it's us quiet ones you have to watch out for. ;)

Fontana Report (in other words, Hell Yeah!)

Well, in a nutshell, I had the time of my life at Auto Club Speedway! The race was super-exciting, I had great seats, the weather was perfect, and I GOT TO SEE JIMMIE WIN, AHHHH!!!! I can't tell you how stoked I am - I got to see my hometown boy (along with my favorite Illinoisan, hehe) win at our home track. There's nothing like it. He did some awesome burnouts & donuts all around the track, too - you rock, Jimmie! And MAJOR congrats to Chad and the pit crew... New tire guy? Eh, no big deal! We've got it covered!

And what a great race. I mean, I think we all knew in our hearts that Jimmie would come out on top, but Montoya was definitely giving him some trouble throughout the race, so I was biting my nails for a while there. I was sitting over by Turn 1, so I saw The Big One as they came down the front stretch and ended up right in front of me...ca-razy. I thought I was at Talladega for a while there instead of Fontana! And then that last restart...I knew Jimmie would do it, but Jeff was sure giving him a run for his money. I don't know how Chad does it week in and week out; I thought I was going to pop before the end!

I didn't see Chad, darn it (next time...I am so buying pit passes for Las Vegas), and I didn't get any decent pictures from the race (way too far away from the start/finish line), but I DID go see the 48 show car in Irvine on Friday, so I'll post some pics of it when I get a chance. Good times!

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From AutoRacingDaily.com:
Post-Race Q&A with Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus & Rick Hendrick

Chad Knaus Crew Chief Hat

So supposedly you can order a hat like the white one Chad wears from the Lowe's Racing site, but when you click on the link to it from chadknaus.com, Lowe's Racing basically tells you, "What choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" So if you were really looking forward to getting one and now you're all bummed out, may I suggest an alternative? Brickel's Racing Collectibles offers Chad's black hat (which I like better than the white one anyway) for only $10 plus shipping. Here's a pic:



Pretty rad, no? I bought one myself, and it got here just fine and everything, so the site is legit. It took awhile to get here, but considering we're on opposite sides of the country, I guess that's to be expected. Can't wait to show it off at Fontana.

UPDATE: I discovered that you can buy the white hat at the merch hauler at the racetrack, if you really want one (which I did, so I bought me one). They're kind of cool because the HMS logo on the left side says 25th Anniversary on it, so it's not just your everyday Chad Knaus hat. Not that there's really any such thing as an everyday Chad hat, because anything Chad is, by definition, way awesome. Now I need to start going on hikes or something outdoorsy just so I have an excuse to wear them, since I've got not one but two now...

Special Paint Scheme at Fontana

"At Auto Club Speedway, Jimmie Johnson will drive a special #48 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe's Impala. His helmet will feature the 12 charities selected for his Helmet of Hope initiative. The helmet will be auctioned off at the 3rd Annual Jimmie Johnson Foundation Dinner and Auction with the proceeds going to the San Diego Jimmie Johnson Foundation Championship Grants in partnership with Lowe's Toolbox for Education." (Jayski's)

"The charities featured on Johnson’s Helmet of Hope are: Victory Junction (Randleman, N.C.), Zepp Children’s Foundation (Westminster, Md.), National Multiple Sclerosis Society Mid Atlantic Chapter (Charlotte, N.C.), KidsPeace (Raleigh, N.C.), Special Operations Warrior Foundation (Tampa, Fla.), The Taylor Brooks Foundation (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Loaves & Fishes (Charlotte, N.C.), CureSearch (Bethesda, Md.), Hendrick Marrow Program (Charlotte, N.C.), St. Baldrick’s Foundation (Pasadena, Calif.), Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta (Atlanta, Ga.) and Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (Libertyville, Ill.)" (JJ Foundation)

You can purchase Helmet of Hope car die-casts, as well as HOH t-shirts and hats, at the Team Lowe's Racing site. I know this isn't specifically Chad-related, but close enough for a good cause.

Would you like another schnitzengruben?

Whilst making an effort to come up with serious, thought-provoking Chad-related news, I got sidetracked by this site: the Knaus Sausage House out of Kimball, MN. Heh. You can choose from two categories of Knaus sausages: jerky or sticks. I think I'll take the stick. :snort:snicker:rofl: Ahem. Well, there went our family-friendly rating...not to mention any lingering sense of maturity I might have felt. (And just to be clear, these are different Knauses than ours...at least I assume so. Maybe he has relatives in Minnesota, who knows?)

CKF Live at Fontana!

That's right, I will be reppin' Chad Knaus Fans (I gotta think of a better name for this thing) at Auto Club Speedway this weekend, live and in person. I don't have pit passes (boo), but I might make it to the NASCAR Performance taping (yay!), so if I have any Chad encounters, you'll be the first to know! I'll certainly have lots of photos of all the goings-on either way, so keep an eye out for those next week. If you see a brunette chick with a black Chad Knaus pit hat and a Tony Stewart t-shirt on, that's me. I'm totally talking to myself at this point, lol, but whatever.

On the news side of things, here's an article from Speed TV:
How Will Johnson Bounce Back?
(Great opening line: "Death. Taxes. Jimmie Johnson." I love it!)

Kansas Photos

Here are a few photos from last week's Kansas race to get your Wednesday started:

News from Kansas

NASCAR.com video link: "Follow Jimmie Johnson's day at Kansas as he battles his way to the front only to lose track position with four-tire stops and a bad set of rubber."

Chase 4 History: Kansas

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Hendrick cars pass 2nd inspection

"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR found no problems with the cars of championship leaders Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson on Tuesday following a second, more thorough inspection.

The Hendrick Motorsports-owned cars were taken to NASCAR's research and development center after Sunday's race at Kansas to make sure there were no issues with the Chevrolets. The team was warned last week that the cars had squeaked through inspection following their 1-2 showing at Dover." (Full Article - Associated Press)

Click here to read an interview from AutoRacingDaily.com with Chad about the issues surrounding the 48 car's inspections.

Welcome all 48 fans!

This is a blog for all fans of Chad Knaus, 4-in-a-row championship winning crew chief for the #48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team (whew). I'm a big fan of both the 48 team as well as Tony Stewart and the #14 guys (Tony's my mostest favoritest driver, actually), but Tony doesn't really need another fan site (if you're interested, there is a great TS forum with a really nice group of people at http://www.tonystewartfans.com).

Chad, however, does need one at the moment. I say "at the moment" because there is already one Chad Knaus fan site that was the original and stands out above the rest, Cheesin' Chadwick, and you can find that at http://chad.theloudlibrarian.net (info up to 2005) and http://cheesinchad.blogspot.com (2006-2008). Unfortunately, that site seems to have ground to a halt last year, which is a serious shame, and there hasn't been anybody to pick up the slack. Well, that's all about to change, folks! I am here to soldier on in the name of His Chadness for the good of all his fans! I hope this site can even begin to have a quarter of the charm that Cheesin' Chadwick had - it's one in a million - but I will do my best. Welcome, and have fun!