chad knaus Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Chase Elliott didn’t expect to be racing in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but when the opportunity came calling, he made the most of it. With Michael Annett still recovering from a recent leg surgery, JR Motorsports came into the need for a replacement driver prior to qualifying Saturday morning. After a number of missed calls from Hendrick Motorsports Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus, Elliott finally got the message to report to the No. 1 garage for duty. Elliott’sRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer William Byron may have wound up 10th after what looked like a banner night was in store, but Thursday’s Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway played a big role on the top-16 playoff grid. Going into the 267-lap race, Byron was only a mere two points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the 16th and final playoff spot and was ahead of 18th place points man Tyler Reddick by 12 points. However, things looked different on top of the No. 24 Axalta pitRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Returning to the track a week after unspeakable tragedy struck into the heart of the team, Hendrick Motorsports rolled into Atlanta Motor Speedway in late October 2004 looking to kickstart the healing process. By the time the checkered flag flew on the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500, the healing was well on its way thanks to an emotional win from Jimmie Johnson. En route to Martinsville Speedway the previous weekend, a Hendrick Motorsports team plane, carrying 10, had crashed into Bull Mountain in southeast Virginia. ThereRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s running of the Daytona 500. Age: 22 Years in Cup: Two Career Wins: Zero (Four in Xfinity and Seven in Trucks) Accomplishments: 2017 Xfinity Series Champion Stability is finally part of William Byron’s vocabulary and it’s for good reason as 2019 marked his fourth full season on the NASCAR national tour and second in the Cup Series, the first time he’s competed in aRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Second-year Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron shared the news this week that his longtime sponsor and current learning institution, Liberty University, will back him for at least another two years in NASCAR’s premier series. And it seemed fitting, as Byron has been a stellar student in his first version of stock car racing’s ultimate final exam – the Playoffs. The 21-year old NASCAR star/college student arrived at Richmond (Va.) Raceway for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer SONOMA, California — William Byron is still trying getting used to Sonoma Raceway as he’ll make his second start at the now 2.52-mile circuit this Sunday. Even if it’s his second Cup rodeo, Byron learned right away that launching into the corners in “The Carousel” will be key, but his biggest surprise from the two practice sessions on Friday was the amount of grip being different than last year where he finished 25th. “I’m surprised how much grip the track has lost in areas that weRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Paired for the first time with crew chief Chad Knaus, sophomore driver William Byron put his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the pole for the Feb. 17 Daytona 500 on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four spots and extending that organization’s dominance in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. Byron edged last year’s pole winner, Alex Bowman, by .036 seconds for theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s 61st annual running of the Daytona 500. Age: 43 Years in Cup: 17 Career Wins: 83 Championships: 7 Things come in threes, that’s the best way to describe Jimmie Johnson’s underwhelming 2018 campaign. Now entering his 18th full season, Johnson won’t have three things that’s been synonymous with the sport’s juggernaut — his 16-year winning streak, Chad Knaus as crew chief and Lowe’s as his primaryRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Now that the 2018 NASCAR season is complete and the year is drawing to a close, we’ll take this opportunity to take a look back at the year that was. Today, we dive into the final part of the 10 most memorable moments of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Truex Throws Down the Gauntlet at Martinsville “He may have won the battle, but he ain’t winning the damn war,” Martin Truex, Jr. said after the conclusion of the First Data 500 at Martinsville. MinutesRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – After 17 seasons together, Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the closing of a chapter in Jimmie Johnson’s career as it marked the final race that he and crew chief Chad Knaus would be paired up and the final time that Lowe’s would serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 48 Chevrolet. To commemorate the end of an era, Johnson’s car was decked out in the same Lowe’s paint scheme he sported back during his rookie season, his uniform matched the one heRead More