Chad Knaus names Jimmie Johnson’s stand-out NASCAR Cup race win that ‘means an awful lot’

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus won 82 races together.

Chad Knaus names Jimmie Johnson’s stand-out NASCAR Cup race win that ‘means an awful lot’

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus (Credits: IMAGO)

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus will be officially inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday, January 17. In the first year of becoming eligible, the duo was inducted into the prestigious list on their first attempt as part of the Class of 2024. Legendary driver Donnie Alison joins them on the entry list.

Jimmie Johnson is one of the most successful drivers in the sport’s history, and Knaus was the mastermind behind achieving that success at Hendrick Motorsports.  Together, they have won 82 Cup races and seven championships in a partnership over one and a half decades at NASCAR’s premier level.

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Recently, he revealed their best win as a duo, and it was their first NASCAR Cup race win. It came in 2002, Johnson’s rookie year at the iconic Auto Club Speedway, which was recently demolished as part of a new track project by NASCAR. The trophy from the event will feature in the HOF box of Knaus. It was previously kept at his home.

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Up until recently, the only trophy I ever kept in my office was our first very win in Fontana in 2002. It is going into the Hall of Fame in my box, so it is not in my office right now. That one really stands out. I feel like that kind of solidified and started our journey together. If we hadn’t won that race, we would have been fine. It lit the fuse and ignited it, which was pretty special. From a win standpoint, that one means an awful lot.
Knaus told Hendrickmotorsports.com.

Two more wins are important for Chad Knaus

The legendary crew chief later went on to name two more wins from the seven times Cup champion for free. Two of these wins came at a time when the driver and the whole of Hendrick Motorsports needed something to move on from emotional distress.

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Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson (Credits: AP)

The first one was the 2004 race win in Atlanta in October. It was the most important victory of the team’s history as it came straight after the tragic death of Hendrick’s family members, including the heir to Rick Hendrick’s Racing empire, in a plane crash in Virginia.

The next one on the list is Johnson’s magical seventh title triumph in 2016 at Miami. After failing a technical inspection, he was forced to start at the back of the grid. A combination of brilliant driving and the crash involving Carl Edwards and Joey Logano helped him to win the title.

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