Why should NASCAR boot Chad Knaus? See Clint Bowyer…

February 19, 2012 10 Comments »

Chad Knaus was looking down after his team failed opening inspection at Daytona. What he should have been looking for, had NASCAR made the right decision, was a ticket back to Charlotte. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

When someone robs a bank, it generally doesn’t matter whether the perp pulls the gun out of his pocket before or after he walks into the branch.

That’s why I’m trying to figure out why Chad Knaus is still in Daytona after coming to the track with with a C-post that failed initial inspection.

NASCAR’s argument tends to be that if they catch the shenanigans before anybody gets on the track it isn’t as much as a crime because nobody else’s race is compromised. And  I could accept that argument — all the way up until I saw Clint Bowyer’s Camry after qualifying, with his teammates sitting next to it, waiting to go through post-qualifying inspection once again.

The car ended up failing. According to a Michael Waltrip Racing spokesperson, the car was 60 thousandths of an inch too low on the left front.

“Really very surprised that we were — I don’t know if we got something stuck in the bleed hole in the shock, but the front just didn’t come back up,” MWR Vice President of Competition told FOXSports.com in denying any intentional wrongdoing. “It’s all the same stuff that we ran in practice, and it was coming back up.”

This is nothing new for Bowyer. In the 2010 Chase opener at New Hampshire, he found Victory Lane. Then he found his Chase hopes dashed when the back of his car was outside tolerance by 60-thousandths of an inch — after being bumped by a tow truck helping his gas-less car get to Victory Lane.

Bowyer was docked 150 point, despite Richard Childress going as far as reenacting the incident at Charlotte Motor Speedway to show the tow truck was the perpetrator.

Over the course of a weekend, cars get poked and prodded, bumped and bruised. It’s a lot easier to argue lack of intent once the madness starts. But when somebody shows up at the track with with a C-post so gnarled that NASCAR notices it with the naked eye, there is no excuse.

NASCAR crew chiefs are supposed to push the limit. Problem is, Knaus has lost any right to play on the fringes. If Knaus were a felon and NASCAR were a “three strikes you’re out” state, the crew chief would be going to jail for life without parole. He was suspended in 2006 (Daytona, when he was sent home after a post-qualifying failure) and 2007 (Sonoma).

Why should Knaus be kicked out of Daytona again? Because if you don’t, you look as bad as Ohio State, which suspended players for the first five games of the 2011 season after trading autographs for tattoos, but let them play in the Sugar Bowl.

The Buckeyes’ players shouldn’t have been allowed to play in the season’s marquee matchup before paying for their crimes.

And neither should Knaus.

Follow Josh Stewart on Twitter @JoshNASCARWWE

  • http://nascar C.P. CARTER

    It make’s one wonder how Johnson won 5 back to back championships does’nt it ??? Personally,,I feel that as a crew chief he was doing his job,, but as history show’s,,most criminal’s start out as good honest people and when they see the chance to take advantage of a situation,,they cross the line and hope they don’t get caught and if they get away with it the first time,,they feel they are above the law,,if they get caught,, the first time they get a slap on the hand,,then they go to the next level and it continue’s until it is out of hand,,that is where I feel Knaus is now,,he need’s to be suspened from racing for the remainder of the yr,,if that does not stop him,,then indefinitly. Rick Hendrick condone’s this pratice so he is near as guilty as Knaus,,something should be levied against just as strong…..

  • mr clause

    You really don’t know your NASCAR history do you? A quick research on these two alone might jog your thinking, Jr Johnson, Smokey Yunick. There are many more you could add to them. You might also consider the claim that the claw was never used to check the actual fit or dimensions. Have you ever been in the mountains and seen a stream that you’d swear that was flowing up hill? Optical illusions are not unusual. IF, this is the same car that has run four races, been through the tech center inspection, and has not had the roof touched after all of that maybe, just maybe, NASCAR should have used the claw and had something to back up their eyeballing. As Helton said, he was surprised that Chad had done this. Well just maybe he didn’t. Chad is an innovator, a rule pusher, that’s his job and he does it well. If you recall, the 48 was checked post race for what, the last 4-5 races of the season and nothing was found. To put a NASCAR crew chief in the company of a felon much less a three time felon is over the line. You also need to notice that the car was never on the track, had a week to go before it raced. You were out of line with this headline grabbing, idiotic article. The question should be why NASCAR never used the claw to determine actual measurements as they did with those you use to attempt to make your point.

  • ed boo

    if the car fits the templet why is it a crime you are only submitting a product it is their right to turn it down but don’t penalize these are engineers & it is their job to find anything to get a edge or mabe nascar should issue the bodies & we could fire the crew chiefs& engineers

  • shark

    You should really get your facts straight, the Buckeyes weren’t the ones who let those players play in the Sugar Bowl. The NCAA let them play because they are money hungry and couldn’t stand the loss of cash.

  • matt f

    NASCAR won’t do a damn thing to Chad because he’s a Hendrick employee. They might slap him on the wrist, but that’s all. Any other team would be run thru the ringer, and with the current point system their year would be spent playing catch up.

  • Paul

    The days of “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’” are, or should be, long gone. I remember in the 60′s the front of cars squished so low tht the Fords with stacked headlamps looked like they had only 1 rather than 2 buckets on each side. Bill Elliott’s 7/8 scale model Thunderbird in the eighties. Smokey Yunick’s LeMans that he drove out of the track without the gas tank. AJ Foyt with a nitrous bottle under the dashboard. Some creative crew chief who had like 100 feet of fuel line curled up inside the car. NASCAR created the COT to level the field somewhat and props to them for catching Knaus at it again. I agree with the writer and think there ought to be a three stikes rule that would suspend the chief for a full year. I was in attendance at the 2006 race won by Johnson and my money says that the window was an obvious attempt that drew attention away from other “creative engineering” that Knaus and company had on that car.

  • Paul

    The days of “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’” are, or should be, long gone. I remember in the 60′s the front of cars squished so low that the Fords with stacked headlamps looked like they had only 1 rather than 2 buckets on each side. Bill Elliott’s 7/8 scale model Thunderbird in the eighties. Smokey Yunick’s LeMans that he drove out of the track without the gas tank. AJ Foyt with a nitrous bottle under the dashboard. Some creative crew chief who had like 100 feet of fuel line curled up inside the car. NASCAR created the COT to level the field somewhat and props to them for catching Knaus at it again. I agree with the writer and think there ought to be a three stikes rule that would suspend the chief for a full year. I was in attendance at the 2006 race won by Johnson and my money says that the window was an obvious attempt that drew attention away from other “creative engineering” that Knaus and company had on that car.

  • Liz in MI

    Other teams have points taken away, are sidelined for a lap or two for minor things but not a Hendrick team. Certainly not the #48. When a group becomes as powerful and strong as Hendrick Racing there can’t possibly be equality in the sport. Just ask Robbie Gordon for his opinion on the subject. The only reason Stewart is successful as an owner/driver is because he’s in Hendricks back pocket.

  • Special – K

    If you don’t like what their doing , it’s simple don’t watch it.

  • renoinphx

    nobody has said much about the traction control device nascar let stewart win the championship with!