chad knaus Tag

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the top-30 drivers in the series leading into this month’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. Age: 42 Years in Cup: 17 Career Wins: 83 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Victories, Seven Championships In 2018, Seven-Time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson is a member of the ‘old guard.’ Johnson is one of the oldest drivers competing on the circuit and is the oldest at Hendrick Motorsports. 2017 was an abnormally ‘off’Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor An eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship will have to wait until 2018 for Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team. Entering the day in a must-win situation to be able to claim the final spot in the Championship 4 and advance on to Homestead, Johnson qualified 12th and was holding steady just outside the top-10 on lap 149 when he blew a tire entering Turn 3, sending his Chevrolet hard into the outside wall. The damage was enough to send him to theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer How many different obstacles in an elimination race can be thrown a drivers’ way? For Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson, a multitude of issues almost cost him a chance to fight for an unprecedented eighth series championship. Johnson narrowly escaped Kansas Speedway with his Championship hopes intact, a mere nine points ahead of Kyle Larson. Johnson ended the Hollywood Casino 400 in 11th, a far cry from where it looked like he would finish. Not once, but twice, Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’sRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For Jimmie Johnson to be able to keep his hopes of an eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship alive, he’ll have to make it through Sunday’s elimination race at Kansas to do so. One may think that shouldn’t be too tough a task for the No. 48 team, but with only seven points separating him from the cut-off line, anything could happen by the time the checkered flag falls on the Hollywood Casino 400. The Round of 12 got off to a decent startRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer  How can seven-time and defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson fly under radar in the Playoffs? By being outside the top-10 throughout the entire weekend until the final stage of the Tales of the Turtles 400. Johnson had a quiet weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. He finished eighth, but was 11th at the end of both stages. Unlike some of his fellow Playoff competitors, Johnson had flawless pit stops for his No. 48 Lowe’s / Hitachi Chevrolet SS. Throughout the entire race passingRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor One of the most prolific partnerships in NASCAR history is sticking together for a little while longer. On Friday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson had signed a contract extension with the team to keep him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet through the 2020 season. Johnson’s long-time sponsor, Lowe’s also re-upped their contract for another year as their colors will adorn the side of Johnson’s car for all 38 races through 2018. “My relationship withRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer CONCORD, N.C. – As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepared for the Monster Energy All-Star Race, many looked to see what kind of racing the ‘option’ tires could produce. One driver interested in the softer compound was seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson placed his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS seventh on the practice charts with several ahead of him setting blistering fast times on the ‘option’ tires. In qualifying, he ended up fourth after mistakes cost him and his Hendrick Motorsports team the chanceRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor These days Jimmie Johnson is considered one of the greatest of all-time with seven championships and 80 wins to his name, but there was a time when the California native was a fresh faced rookie just looking to make a mark on the sport. As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Auto Club Speedway this weekend, we’ll take a look back at the 2002 NAPA 500 in this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater”, where Johnson scored the first of his many wins. Johnson signedRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — An entire season’s work rests on one 400-mile race for the four drivers and teams left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR’s new Chase format — unveiled in 2014 — essentially makes the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway a dog-eat-dog winner-take-all race for the championship. Talk about pressure. For Jimmie Johnson, there is added pressure. If the California-native can rise above his competition in Sunday’s race, he will be tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with most Sprint Cup SeriesRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. — All is right in the world of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. The dynamic driver and crew chief duo are hitting on all cylinders heading into the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. At stake? A record-tying seventh championship for Johnson, but 11 years ago this weekend, the team of Johnson and Knaus was nearly split up. Hendrick discussed his thought process as the competitive Johnson and Knaus started butting heads back in 2005. “You know, every — I think it’s theRead More