« Advertise @ RacingWithRich.com | Main | Did you see the guy throw his shoes at President Bush? »
Is it time for Knaus to help Junior or Gordon?
By admin | December 10, 2008
By Richard Allen
Last week I wrote about the remarkable success of driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus and compared the combination against other tandems in NASCAR history. I ended that column by teasing that it might be time to break this successful duo up.
I say that not because their relationship may be going stale and certainly not because there has been a drop off in their performance because neither of those things appear to be the case. I say it because there are other drivers within the Hendrick Motorsports team who appear to need a boost.
In particular, those two drivers are Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
When the casual fan or even the non NASCAR fan is asked to name a driver it is almost a sure bet that either the name Earnhardt or Gordon will be mentioned. However, the success of these two did not match their enormous notoriety and popularity in 2008.
It may be that Knaus is no more talented or knowledgeable than any other crew chief at HMS. It could simply be that he and Johnson have struck such a good personal relationship that the set ups are just right and the pit calls fall into place. Or, it could be that Knaus is just that good.
Considering the marketability of both Earnhardt and Gordon and the potential windfall to be gained by having either of these talented drivers succeed, it may be time to consider having Knaus move his wrenches to another side of the HMS garage.
Earnhardt recently picked up the hardware in New York for being named NASCAR’s most popular driver. He has won that award for the past six consecutive years.
Unfortunately for Junior, his success on the track has not matched his success at the souvenir stand. In his first season for the powerhouse Hendrick organization he managed only one victory, a fuel mileage gamble that paid off in Michigan.
As part of his move to HMS from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Junior brought his crew chief and cousin Tony Eury, Jr. with him. That pairing has produced little to brag about in recent years. At DEI the two Juniors went winless in 2007 and managed only one win in 2006.
Wins would go well with Earnhardt’s marketability. He has not been getting those wins on a regular basis. Chad Knaus has. One has to wonder how Junior could do with a three time champion crew chief calling the shots on his pit box. One also has to wonder how many hats and shirts could be sold if Junior were winning more races and seriously contending for a championship with two or three races remaining in the season.
For Gordon, the story of 2008 was even less successful than that of Earnhardt. He did not visit victory lane even once.
The fact that Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte struggled to find the handle on the Car of Tomorrow was obvious. The four time champion driver’s frustration showed more than once when he was openly critical of his crew both in interviews and during team radio communications.
Gordon has 81 career wins to go along with those four titles. To say the least, he is not used to winless seasons. This driver who has proven to be equally comfortable in front of a camera as he is in victory lane did not get to use his victory lane speech in 2008.
Gordon has hinted that he does not plan to do like so many other drivers and race well into his forties. He will turn 38 in 2009. One has to wonder if he would like the opportunity to be paired with a championship proven crew chief like Knaus to make a run at another title before he decides to take his final checkered flag.
Obviously, the risk of breaking up the most successful duo in racing today would be great. However, the potential reward of matching Chad Knaus with either Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Jeff Gordon could be off the charts. Has it ever been considered behind the office doors at Hendrick Motorsports?
Richard Allen is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association. His weekly column appears in The Mountain Press every Wednesday.
Topics: Articles |
December 11th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Maybe Mr. Hendrick should have Chad teach a crew chief’s class in the off-season!
December 11th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I have tried time and time again with comments and Emails to the Media. Dale Jr and Tony Jr have 2 wins together !!! All the other wins and Busch Championships was with Tony Eury SR !!!!!! Even at DEI when the car didn’t have mechanical problems it was the same thing run up front and fade in the end . Most fans and media forget this and act if all the sucess came with Tony Jr . Like I say . . . new number . . new team . . new owner . . same ole Tony Jr and same ole results . Gordon on the other hand just had a bad year . Just remember Dale SR went winless in 97 and came back to win the Daytona 500 and several more and was back on top of his game when he passed. Jeff will be ok they will get the hang of the new car . Remember Jeff and LeTarte won a bunch of races in 07 with both cars that combo has had sucess together. Dale Jr and Tony jr has not had any sucess . If Tony Jr was not Dalr Jr’s cousin he would have allready been replaced
December 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
While the premise is intriguing it wouldn’t be wise unless (until) Johnson and Knauss lose their magic. Breaking up a winning combination when there is no guarentee that Gordon/Knauss or Earnhardt/Knauss would have the same chemistry would be killing the golden goose.
December 11th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Rousch takes that kind of gamble often and makes it work. An even better suggestion might be for HMS to use the same strategy that seems to have worked for Rousch in 08. In 08 Rousch broke up Kenseth and Robbie Reiser, and put Reiser in a role where he was helping all of the Rousch teams. Maybe that would be a better way for everyone at HMS to be more successful. Knaus would be free to go from crew chief to crew chief during a race to help whichever one needed the help. Knaus is best at making late race changes that put Johnson up front with a chance to win. Gordon and Jr often start races great and finish terrible. Neither case is that a drivers fault. Maybe they would both benefit from Knaus being a team leader, and Johnson could continue to have success as well. Johnson did just fine the times Knaus was suspended, and I am sure Knaus was making long distance adjustment calls then. Being a team leader he would be doing the same thing, but for all HMS drivers.
December 11th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Why would Hendricks break up a winning team? Who’s to say that the chemistry would mesh between Jr. or Gordon and Chad. This is a business and you don’t shoot down the golden goose. Besides, Tony Jr. is Jrs. LAST security blanket. He loses Tony and the blame falls on his shoulders and no one elses. Hey Nation, I thought the best equipment in the sport was all it was going to take to give Jr. a championship? How’s that working out for ya? Oh, yeah, right. WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!
December 12th, 2008 at 4:29 am
Hi!
First of all you are comparing Earnhardt Jr and Gordon, the latter of which is the talented driver. You can’t do that.
Gordon has gone through team changes since Evernham left and personal issues.
The focus has been on the #48 to win the cups for Lowes and he has laid back.
This year the money was thrown on the #88 and the #48 and he has laid back once again.
Perhaps he was testing for his wonderful teammates.
JMO.
Thanks.
December 13th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Even if Rick and Chad agreed to the switch, I don’t think Junior would allow it.
Marybeth
In an article in the stockcarreview.com, of Nov. 21, ’08, Debbi Willis said that Teresa tried to get a “real” crew chief for Junior and he would not allow it. http://www.stockcarreview.com/id548.html.
Since Jr. separated from Pops, who he won 2 championships in Busch with and 15 wins in Cup, 6 in ‘04 alone, Jr. has had 3 wins in 4 years. I am sure Jr. is smart enough to understand what is going on, but for some reason this is the way he wants it. I’m sure that he realizes that he is throwing away what should be the most productive, ‘putting up the numbers’, years of his racing career. I am sure he has asked himself if this is the way he would be doing it if his Dad was still alive. Mark Martin said that when he was thinking over his offer to run for Rick, he asked himself, down the road, would he look back and regret passing up the best opportunity of his life to get a chance for a try for a championship. I am sure Junior has asked himself the same thing and understands the consequences of his present decisions. I am sure that no one knows better than him that his car is set-up as well as the best for the start of a race and runs up front, but that the adjustments to finish strong are not there…and for a reason only he and maybe Rick knows and understands, that is the way he wants it. Winning and championships are just not what is most important to him. There are those people who enjoy banging their head on a brick wall over and over. : ) I do not pretend to understand…but you can only accept reality as it is. As others have said, I will remain his fan.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:05 am
NO! I am a Very big Gordon fan and have been since Jeff won his first race. I would like nothing better then to see Jeff in victory lane, but not at the expense of Jimmie Johnson. Johnson and Knaus should stay together as long as they can and set all the records they can.
Jeff and Jr. should work hard and maybe look a new crew chiefs. Jeff and Jr. should think about changing their driving style to match Jimmie , if they pull that off the Knaus setup is there for all three drivers.
Looking forward to next season with Jimmie,Jeff, Jr. and Mark Martin.