Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus: The History of NASCAR's "Grayest" Pairing

It happens in every sport on every team and the outcome is usually the same. Your branded with the name "cheaters" until someone else comes along and does something worse.

When cheating in NASCAR occurs, it usually results in fines exceeding as much as $100,000 and championship points are taken away, which in the end could cost you a championship shot or the championship period.

Just ask Mark Martin, who lost a championship once because of a post race inspection that resulted in a penalty.

Your competitiors wonder whether you should be trusted and the skeptics follow you every time you run well. But maybe the biggest thing you may lose is respect, dignity and pride.

Eventually it will all fade away, however, the damage and lingering questions may haunt the rest of your career.

Everyone in NASCAR cheats; as the saying goes "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying."

All the crews and crew chiefs in the garage are always looking for the one thing that will help them, but not anyone else. They all want the same thing: a little more speed or a better handling race car.

So, if that's the case, what's your excuse when you get caught with the answer sheet during a test? It just magically appeared on your desk? Like an illegal part magically appeared in the car?

No! They were put there with the same thing in mind: to have an advantage. Richard Petty once said that winning doesn't cure all of a man's problems.

For Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, winning has made their problems worse.

Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus first entered the Sprint Cup Series in February of 2002. Then a few months later, on July 11, Chad was fined $25,000 for improperly installed mounting bolts. Jimmie Johnson was fined 25 championship points and team owner Rick Hendrick was fined 25 owner points.

That would be strike one against Jimmie and Chad with many more to come.

Of course Rick Hendrick is not new to cheating. In 2000, Jeff Gordon lost one hundred championship points and crew chief Robbie Loomis was fined $25,000 for an unapproved intake manifold.

Then in 2001, Robbie Loomis was fined $25,000 again, this time for the car being too low. However, no championship points were taken away that time.

It doesn't end there. The No. 25 crew chief, Tony Furr, was fined $25,000 for the car being too low. Then, add in the No. 5 crew chief, Jim Long, being fined $20,000 for fuel cell modifications.

Like they say in life, it isn't cheating unless you get caught, and they got caught.

You would think that after one penalty it would smarten you up. But, just short while later in September, Chad was fined once again for cursing during a live television interview. That cost him $5,000. For those of you who are keeping track, so far the man is short $30,000 from his pocket.

In the case of the first penaly (the second had nothing to do with the car), Johnson had not won. But, then a new trend started to emerge. 

Starting in May of 2003, after winning a million dollars in NASCAR's All-Star race, his crew chief was fined $1,000 for using an unapproved air directional device.

It may have been the first time, but it certainly wasn't the last. Just days after winning the Coca-Cola 600, Chad was fined $2,500 for using an approved refrigerant.

Why would a man stop cheating when all he was losing was chump change? The championship points weren't being taken away, and that's all that matter rights?

The cheating stopped for a little while and the next timed they were in the news was after Johnson's Las Vegas winning car failed to meet the minimum height in post race inspection early into the 2005 season. The team was docked 25 championship points, which knocked Jimmie out of the points lead, and yes, Chad was fined $35,000 and suspended for two races.

Days later, he appealed his suspension and it would be overturned, replaced with 90 days of probation. The fine and points penalty, however, were upheld.

The next time Johnson's winning car would fail inspection would be at Dover in the fall, when Chad "exploited" a loophole in the NASCAR rulebook. NASCAR would change the rule and no points or fines were handed out, but the damage had been done.

It now looked like they couldn't win a race without a little help.

Speedweeks of 2006 didn't help their case. After qualifying for the Daytona 500 on February 12, the car failed post-qualifying inspection. Johnson's time was disallowed and, on February 13, Chad Knaus was ejected from the Daytona 500.

He would later be suspended for four races for raising the rear window on Johnson's car to alter the aerodynamics and help make the car go faster.

Jimmie Johnson would go on to win the race much to many peoples displeasure.

However, Chad's cheating days started before he came to the Sprint Cup Series. Here's a brief history:

On March 21, 2001 he was suspended for two races and fined $5,000 for using unapproved shoulder harnesses in a car driven by Stacey Compton. On October 22, 2001 he was fined $750 for using unapproved window clips on Compton's car.

This man will stop at nothing to win a race, even if it means breaking the rules and losing other's respect.

The highest amount of championship points taken away from a driver is 151. This happened to Jeremy Mayfield in 2000, when his crew chief altered fuel.

In 1983, Richard Petty lost 104 points after winning the race his car was found to have to right side tires on the left side of the car and vice versa; that "adjustment" allowed the car tp pick up speed.

But it didn't end there. Maurice Petty, Richard's brother and engine builder, admitted that the engine was too big. He went on to say that Richard had no idea what was going on, the same thing Chad Knaus said in Daytona.

But would any driver get into a car without knowing what was in it?

So, Chad is not the only one, he's just the one that isn't very good at hiding his cheat sheet, and has the most offenses, along with the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization.

There are always ways to minimize the amount of cheating in NASCAR. For example, you could make the fines a lot worse. Every offense is at least 150 championship points and $125,000 to $150,000. Let's face it, they won't cheat if they are constantly losing a lot of money and points.

If your caught cheating in qualifying, you should be sent home and not allowed to race that weekend.

If you're caught after the race is over, then you should finish at the back of the field, and repeat offenders should be banned for life after four offenses. The harsher the penalties, the less likely you'll catch guys with their wranglers down.

In the era that Richard Petty cheated, they called it "Pettygate." Maybe this era should be named "Knausgate."

They're all chasing the same thing: wins, championships and fame. If you want to be a champion you must first know how to act like one and play by the rules.

So, punching someone for running into you is not a champion like move. Or intentionally spinning someone out, after all, when you have the wheel of a 3,500 pound stock car and you want to play tag; you're putting others at risk.

Plus, think before you speak. You're someone's role model and cursing on national television doesn't sit well with others.

You shouldn't have fans (the ones who help pay your salary) losing respect for you and competitors not wanting to race with you.

So, the next time you want to "try" something different, remember something said about drinking: be responsible and careful, because everything has consequences.

Sidenote:

In 2006 and 2007 Chad Knaus was caught cheating which resulted in fines both monatary and in points. He was also suspended for four weeks in 2006 and then six in 2007. This has caused many to question whether Jimmie Johnson's championships are tainted.

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