Judgment day comes for Chad Knaus
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| Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR |
However the silver lining is that Hendrick is taking it a step further by bringing the appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Chief appellate officer John Middlebrook. Middlebrook has a history of being fair and hears both sides of the story. This could be good news for Knaus. Hendrick believes that Middlebrook is a fair guy and does his job fairly.
When asked why Hendrick wasn’t settling for the appeal Hendrick said simply, "Because I don't accept it. Period."
As for Chad Knaus the outcome is still looking very grim. If Hendrick doesn’t win this final appeal who will take the place of Knaus?
Some reports have said Lance McGrew. McGrew, who is in the HMS development program right now, would be a good candidate since he's been a crew chief for Jimmie Johnson before, back in 2007 for six races when Knaus was suspended.
Another candidate could be engineer Greg Ives who sits on the pit box every race with Knaus. He could very well crew chief for Johnson if Knaus is gone for six weeks. Ives is responsible for calculating fuel mileage, which could come very handy for Johnson if Ives takes over during those six weeks.
Even with the appeal and the 25 points docked from the No. 48 team, Johnson and Knaus haven’t let that distract them. With two great finishes from Phoenix and Vegas, 4th and 2nd respectively, the driver-crew chief duo weren't letting the points hole get deeper. They'll keep fighting and striving to do one thing and one thing only - win! Even with having to start in the back for Vegas, Johnson quickly moved that car to the front and brought home a great finish to help their situation.
And if Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson aren’t letting the penalties bother them why should anyone else? Out of all the news of Knaus and the penalties the one thing that really catches my eye is how much Rick Hendrick stands behind his team and supports them.
For me it makes it hard to see how Knaus could have cheated, seeing how much Hendrick believes and stands behind his teams. That support is something you don’t see often enough. Whether Hendrick wins or loses the appeal, I don’t see it affecting the No. 48 team at all. Six weeks without Knaus will fly by quickly and before you know it, the hunt for the championship will be in full force and the dynamic duo of Knaus and Johnson will be stronger than ever!
Judgment day comes for Chad Knaus
Reviewed by Lacy Page
on
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rating:
Reviewed by Lacy Page
on
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rating:
All I can say is, WHEN WILL CHAD LEARN HE CAN'T CHEAT NASCAR AND WIN!!!!!!!! This is not the first time nor will it be the last time Chad will try to cheat and get by with it!!!! One day NASCAR WILL HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND THEY'LL PUT HIM OUT OF THE SPORT!!!!!! Everything is sooooooooo perise now a days that you're going to get caught unless you stay in that very small window where they can make a bit of a change. It's sooooooooo small of a window in my opinion just leave things alone cause it can't make that much difference in most cases.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your blog. I don't think crew chiefs can afford to sit still and just say, "oh, well, we'll go with the car as is." That way leads to finishing mid-pack.
ReplyDeleteCalling it "innovative" as many are is unjust! He cheated and was caught! He obviously knew where to flare the C-post that it would fit into the template...busted Chad! For your sake, I hope Mr. Middlebrook spares you a bit.
ReplyDeleteTo the earlier Anonymous poster who said, "It's sooooooooo small of a window in my opinion just leave things alone cause it can't make that much difference in most cases." Any edge a team can get makes a huge difference - it's the difference between a win and a loss, a championship or no championship. The templates are strict, but there is a gray area and the best crew chiefs push it constantly. If they don't, they will fall behind - that's a certainty.
ReplyDeleteThank You all so much for reading and commenting hope everyone enjoys the race this weekend :)
ReplyDeletehow many times can this happen before they do something about it, i mean really do something, chad has been busted time after time, and all they do is give him a slap on the wrist so to speak, what happens if jimmy johnson wrecks and die's who are they gonna blame then, prolly not chad, i say stick with the decision, better yet fine him more money, maybe he would think before he tries something like this again.
ReplyDelete