Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006 | 11:29 a.m.
Crew Chief Chad Knaus said he doesn't believe Jimmie Johnson got off lightly when NASCAR elected not to deduct championship points from the driver in the wake of the Hendrick Motorsports team's rules violations prior to the Daytona 500.
Not having Knaus as crew chief for the next three Nextel Cup races - including the March 12 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Johnson is the defending winner - is about the heaviest penalty the sanctioning body could have imposed on Johnson and the team, according to Knaus.
"I would honestly say that losing the head coach of the team, crew chief or leader to an organization is probably more detrimental than any points you could possibly take away," Knaus said this week during a national teleconference.
"I think in the immediate future, the next three races, it could be very detrimental - me not being there. We are just going to try the best we can to get through it."
NASCAR fined Knaus $25,000, suspended him from all NASCAR events until March 22 and placed him on probation until Dec. 31 after an "unapproved template modification to the rear window area" was discovered after Daytona 500 qualifying on Feb. 12. NASCAR also banned Knaus from the Daytona 500, which Johnson won.
Knaus, who refused to say whether the violation was intentional or unintentional, said he felt bad that the controversy had overshadowed Johnson's victory.
"Drivers don't know what's going in these race cars - ever," Knaus said. "Jimmie isn't really into or knows about what is going on with the race cars. He shows up, drives, gives his feedback to the team and goes home."
Family business
Among the associate sponsor logos on the car will be one promoting the mythical "Bada Bing" strip club featured in the show.
"My job has a lot of pressure even without having Tony Soprano as my boss," Bowyer joked. "Now I've got to worry about if I don't win, I might end up sleeping with the fishes."
Also noted:
Brian Hilderbrand can be reached at 259-4089 or at [email protected].
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