Talk about a life change. Last season there was a big change in the life of veteran crew chief Chad Knaus. After spending 16 years atop the pit box directing Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports decided to shake things up. After seven titles and 81 wins together Knaus and Johnson were broken up.
The move came after a winless season filled with struggles for the pair. Maybe it was time, or maybe the two had just stopped getting along, lost their magic. Either way it was a change that could be hard on anyone and sort of a mid-life crisis for the 47-year-old Knaus. Add to all this the fact that Knaus recently got married (in 2015) and just had a baby (last August).
So in the off-season he had to learn to work with a new team (the No. 24) and a new driver, William Byron.
It’s somewhat of a new role for Knaus who has had those few weeks of off-season to mentor his new driver who despite being just turning 21 and starting just his second full year Knaus refuses to call a kid.
“Young man,” Knaus was quick to say Sunday after his young driver won his first career pole, that coming in NASCAR’s biggest race, the Daytona 500. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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