“My heart breaks,” Legendary NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus comes out in support of a family suffering online abuse from anti-vaxxers

Chad Knaus is one of the most accomplished NASCAR crew chiefs ever.

Chad Knaus

Legendary NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus has come out in support of a family that is facing abuse online by Covid-19 vaccine opponents while grieving the death of their 6-year-old son. Billy Ball, a managing editor at Cardinal & Pine, from California, shared his and the family’s story via a column in The Atlantic.

The Ball family lost their 6-year-old son in a household accident on January 2023. His cause of death was a rare cerebral-swelling condition, and the paramedic was too late to save his brain while they could revive the little boy’s heart. Billy Ball claims in the article that once the news of his son’s death got out, COVID Vaccine opponents used it spread misinformation.

The anti-vaxxers spared messages online hinting that the unfortunate death was due to the side effects of taking the vaccine shot. Insensitive comments shared about their son online made it impossible for them to move on from the, and they are emotionally disturbed by it. The Hendrick Motorsports senior VP came across the story online and tweeted, “My heart breaks for this family,”.

Chad Knaus is among the most bellowed and accomplished crew chiefs in NASCAR. He has won 84 cup series races in his career. Eighty-three of them came with Jimmie Johnson and one with William Byron. He led Jimmie Johnson’s No:48 team to a record 7 Cup championships. He retired from Crew chief duties in 2020 and, since then, has worked as a race analyst and HMS official.

My heart breaks for this family. https://t.co/joCauMJDiP
— Chad Knaus (@chadknaus) March 29, 2023

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Fans wholeheartedly join Chad Knaus in supporting the family

The family’s struggles touched NASCAR fans who came across Chad Knaus and offered condolences. They slammed the insensitive comments made by the vaccine opponent community. Some comments also shed light on how some might be from within the NASCAR community. It does have a small but significant number of people with extreme views or different opinions compared to what is universally accepted regarding such topics.

I do not believe in CV19 inoculations but of those who do, that is their right and it should not be mocked, imo.
However, this gentleman put himself and his views about this topic out to the public, then objected when the public comments. He lumped me into those ppl. That's wrong
— Dïrk (@rehm9470) March 29, 2023

Kind of ironic, since there are probably a lot of anti-Vaxers in the stands and RVs at NASCAR races. . .
— Pennsylbama Rising (@pennsylbama2705) March 29, 2023

This is just absolutely heartbreaking ??
— Angie DiBlasi (@angie_diblasi) March 30, 2023

This is just sickening. I had a good friend die from COVID. I got the shots and seemed to be the guinea pig to some. I'm still waiting for my mutant superpower, I said, but some still had to snipe at me about it.

Some people are either sick or stupid…or both.
— David Leone (@DavidLe79788679) March 29, 2023

https://twitter.com/RyanLagoda/status/1641040501955543043

Vaccine side effects are real. We should grieve with anyone concerning this, but let this propaganda piece not lead you to believe those shots were safe.
— Sober Brian Italy (@SoberBrian3) March 30, 2023

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#About the Author

Justin P Joy

(5126 Articles Published)

Justin P Joy is a Motorsports writer and editor at FirstSportz. He has been a motorsport journalist since 2020 and has published over 4500 articles. Justin has extensively covered two NASCAR, Formula One, and Moto GP seasons for FirstSportz. He has invested more than a decade of his life on Motorsports, first as a fan and later as a dedicated writer. Justin’s in-depth knowledge of Motorsports and his experience as a fan make his writing resonate with most racing fans worldwide. Justin's love for racing started when he discovered Moto GP at the age of 8. That love later guided him into the world of Formula 1. He fell in love with NASCAR after watching Tom Cruise’s “Days of Thunder” and has been an avid follower of the premier stock car racing series since. He has also been investing his time to exploring WEC, WRC, Formula E, Extreme E, and IndyCar in a bid to deeply understand the culture and history of Motorsports to present a unique perspective to the fans.

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“My heart breaks,” Legendary NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus comes out in support of a family suffering online abuse from anti-vaxxers

Fans wholeheartedly join Chad Knaus in supporting the family

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