Never Say Never When It Comes To Chad Knaus

Photo: Chuck Burton / AP

Again and again, I have to remind myself never to say never when it comes to the 48 team. 

After watching Jimmie Johnson hit the wall on lap 272, I was sure his day was over.  The car was a mess and hauled off the track on the wrecker.  Any other team would have called it quits and loaded up the car, eager to leave the track.

I called it quits on cheering for the drive for five this weekend when the car was loaded onto the wrecker and sent to the garage.  Heck, I was even commenting that the drive for five might be over for the year.  After all, Johnson has had a very up and down season so far.

But it seems I forgot about the pixie dust the 48 team has. 

Scratch that, I forgot the crew chief the Lowe’s team has.  Quitting is not in Chad Knaus’ vocabulary, especially when it comes to championships. 

This is the man that had his team rebuild a totaled car in less than half a race last year to save their points lead.  That car was in much worse shape than this one and was nearly a new car when it was done.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the 48 returning to the track only thirty three laps later.  Is it any wonder people are a little suspicious of the team?  To say Chad Knaus is a genius may be an understatement with how fast he can get his crew to repair a car… and maybe even a championship season. 

The 48 has people doubting if he can win five in a row after dropping to seventh in the standings and finishing 37^th in the 600.  But no one can doubt their desire for a fifth Cup after watching how hard they worked to repair the damaged car tonight. 

They may have lost the horse shoe this season, but they most definitely have not lost the horse.