FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Jimmie Johnson has won all six of his NASCAR Sprint Cup championships with Chad Knaus on his pitbox.
While the No. 48 is out of contention for this year, Knaus plans to still be there next season for a shot at a seventh title as Johnson’s crew chief.
“I don’t foresee a change with the 48 car from a driver or crew chief standpoint in the near future,” Knaus said Sunday after Johnson won at Texas Motor Speedway. ” I don’t foresee that happening. If it does, I’ll have to be a reporter because I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do after that.”
The win at Texas was Johnson’s fourth this season, but first since Michigan in mid-June. It also was the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s 70th career Cup victory.
There were moments of clear frustration between Johnson and Knaus during this Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Johnson was eliminated in the second round last month.
“Yeah, he will be my crew chief as long as he wants to climb up on that box,” Johnson said Sunday. “Crew chiefs live in dog years so I would imagine he is going to have enough before I have enough, but just such a great run of events. Sure we were frustrated, sure we wanted to be fast, but you are going to have high emotions in any team sport when you are not doing well, especially, when you are a championship-caliber team. It is just how it is.”
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