Chad on Addington Firing

Here's an article from the Orlando Sentinel about Chad's reaction to #18 crew chief Steve Addington's firing:

Chad Knaus on Steve Addington firing: "It sends a really bad message"

I spoke to Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief, a few minutes ago about the 48 on its quest for its fourth consecutive championship. Curious about his take on Steve Addington being fired as the crew chief of the No. 18 Toyota, I finished up by asking what he made of it.

His feelings were strong about the crew chief who trails him in wins by just one over the last two years. Knaus delivered an impassioned defense.

"I'm really disappointed in that," Knaus said. "You know, I think it sends a really bad message throughout the garage and through that company for a team to be as successful as what they were, and win the amount of races that they had, and do the things they’ve done. And for Steve to lose his job, I think is really bad.

"I don't live it so I don't know when you shut that door, nobody knows what's said, so it's difficult to really say much about it other than I hate the fact that this has happened to him because he has done a good job.

"Whether the communication between he and Kyle went south and it was just unbearable, I don't know that. I just think it's terrible that a guy that's won 12 races over the course of the last two years and led as many laps as they have and been potential winners more times than even those 12, for that guy to lose his job, I think is just disgusting."

I asked if he had any doubt Addington would end up with another crew chief job.

"I think there's a lot of great teams out there that would be foolish to not approach Steve. Roush, Roush has been struggling. Childress. I think if you look at a lot of places, he’d be a great fit and I hope he can go somewhere and be successful.

"Nobody pours more into a race team than a crew chief, I can promise you that. And for him to work there with that 18 car through sub-par drivers at different times, a multitude of drivers and finally to get his hands on a very, very talented driver in Kyle, and to have the rug pulled out from underneath him, I just don't think that's fair." (Tania Ganguli, Orlando Sentinel)

I pretty much agree. Like Chad says, we can't really know what went on between Steve and Kyle, but when you look at the numbers, it sure seems like a shame that after winning 12 races with Kyle in two years, he gets the same treatment Tony Eury, Jr. did for winning 1 race in almost the same amount of time. And it seems even more out of left field when you take into consideration that Kyle was just as surprised to find out about it as Steve was. I just don't get it.