Jimmie Johnson Talks Historic NASCAR Run, Chad Knaus Fallout, INDYCAR Stint

There are a number of methods to outline domination. Considered one of them is Jimmie Johnson’s grip on NASCAR within the latter half of the 2000s.

Johnson received the Cup Sequence championship in 5 consecutive seasons from 2006-10 and 6 instances in eight years from 2006-13. Later, Johnson captured the 2016 Cup championship. The previous NASCAR celebrity offered his perspective on how that historic run started and the impression that driving for Hendrick Motorsports throughout his total Cup Sequence profession (three races in 2001 and full-time from 2002-2020) had on him.

“It was a giant shock, to say the least,” Johnson instructed Kevin Harvick about becoming a member of Hendrick Motorsports on the newest version of “Kevin Harvick’s Completely happy Hour.” “I ran three races in 2001, and the crew was nonetheless sort of coming collectively. We did not have our full-time crew chief. … I feel my greatest end was like two laps down in twenty sixth, in order that ’01 yr was like, ‘wow, this is not only a step-up, that is 5 or 10 steps as much as go Cup racing,’ so I used to be fairly fearful. That labored very effectively as a result of throughout the offseason, as soon as we had Chad [Knaus] in place, I simply dug in, and I leaned on the system that’s Hendrick and wore Jeff Gordon out over concepts, notes, how he drives. He did not actually even have notes going at that time limit, however I used to be extracting all these items and making my very own.

“I will always remember the primary Atlanta race, which was the second or third race of the season, I used to be in a position to run on the lead lap and end within the top-five. I used to be like, ‘this place is hard.’ I ran round Mark Martin all day lengthy. I completed within the prime 5. ‘I’ll be okay,’ and that gentle bulb went off simply to proceed to lean on the Hendrick system and have them preserve educating me.”

Johnson is tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for first in NASCAR historical past with seven Cup Sequence titles and is tied for sixth with 83 profession Cup wins. Over that five-year championship run (2006-10), Johnson averaged seven wins and 16.2 top-five finishes per season, most notably taking the checkered flag 10 instances in 2007.

Previous to the championship run, Johnson completed because the runner-up for the Cup Sequence title in each 2003 and 2004, which have been simply his second and third seasons on the NASCAR circuit; he completed fifth in each 2002 (Johnson’s rookie season) and 2005.

One of many constants all through Johnson’s success was crew chief Chad Knaus, who was the crew chief for the No. 48 Lowe’s automobile from 2002-18. Johnson elaborated on the success that he had with Knaus — but in addition their falling out as a crew.

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus loved a legendary run collectively as a driver-crew chief pairing.

“He was the dangerous cop. I used to be the nice cop inside the crew,” Johnson mentioned of Knaus. “He did a lot pushing that I did not must, however I knew the way in which he pushed others, he anticipated that from me. And I felt like I wanted to take some stress off of him, and I made positive that I had my s— collectively. That was the duty I took in hand. He’d nudge me often. There have been actually moments the place it acquired heated and Rick [Hendrick] must become involved. However the great point is, and for thus lengthy, it was by no means private. It was additionally humorous, when anyone says ‘I actually like what you probably did however,’ Chad all the time had that ‘however’ that he would throw in. Our strain in what we placed on one another was advantageous till possibly two or three years left in our run, and it turned private.

“I used to be afraid and annoyed that my profession wasn’t winding down the way in which that I wished it to. Chad, the identical. The place we have been all the time aligned and by no means sort of personally attacked one another, we began to not directly. It wasn’t one thing that we supposed to do, however it turned private, and that eroded away at our success greater than something, after which, finally, Rick separated us.”

Johnson left the Cup Sequence after the 2020 season and started driving within the INDYCAR Sequence. Why did he make that call?

“Every little thing in my profession has been pushed by concern, and that simply takes a toll on you. After I stepped away [from NASCAR], I did not need to be pushed by that anymore,” Johnson mentioned about becoming a member of INDYCAR. “I did not like sort of who I used to be changing into in the way in which my headspace was throughout the course of a season and residing via these moments. Youngsters actually helped outline that, and I notice and see ‘man, I simply did not deal with that proper, or I wasn’t pondering proper, or my head wasn’t proper,’ no matter it was. After I went into INDYCAR racing, that was the dream once I was a child. …

“I am not pushed by concern anymore. I need to get pleasure from. I would like alternative, and that is why I simply sort of ignored the problem that I had forward of myself and dedicated to it and simply went to go have enjoyable.”

Johnson competed in two INDYCAR seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing, racing a mixed 29 races from 2021-22. In the meantime, Johnson has raced within the final three runnings of the Daytona 500 (2023-25) since leaving the game as a full-time driver. This yr, he completed third within the “Nice American Race.” Johnson was inducted into the NASCAR Corridor of Fame in 2024.

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