Someday there’s going to be a heck of a book deal coming for Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. This pairing of driver and crew chief appears to be well on their way to making NASCAR history by winning an unprecedented fourth Cup championship in a row- a feat not even the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough or David Pearson were able to achieve.
Last week, we just learned that former football coaching legend and current NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs is releasing a book tying a strategy for life through faith in God. Years ago, NBA coaching legend Pat Riley of L.A. Lakers fame wrote The Winner Within. I submit Mssrs. Johnson and Knaus could write a compelling story of lessons learned from their successes- even if their historic bid comes up short.
Heck, I’ll even the guys a head start with what I see as the key ingredient in the mix for their not-so-secret formula…..
An Association With Winners- Let’s get this off the table right off the bat. There’s no
denying Johnson and Knaus owe much of their success to their affiliation with Hendrick Motorsports. The equipment, the people and the training lay the foundation for what the duo is able to accomplish. You have to wonder what a season for the “48″ would be like on a start-up team like Tommy Baldwin or in a struggling organization (I’ll leave it to you to come up with your own pick). They’d be good, but not this good. Rick Hendrick puts his teams in a position to win every week.
Preparation- A lot of this is on Chad Knaus. If there’s a better prepared, more thorough pit boss in the business, I don’t know who it is, and that’s said with all apologies to some outstanding chiefs such as Greg Zipadelli, Steve Addington and Bob Osborne among others.
This team has an answer for every situation. They gamble, but when you listen to their communication, they’re calculated gambles.
And they don’t miss on them very often either.
Flexibility- What makes Johnson’s win Sunday so impressive is he didn’t unload a winning car at Indianapolis. He qualified 16th, Knaus made changes on Saturday, and by Sunday, Johnson said he knew he had a winner after the first lap.
The “48″ team is a lot like those winning football teams who get challenged and maybe even fall behind in the first half. The coaches pull themselves together in the halftime locker and throw out what’s not working and lay out a new plan to pull back ahead.
Depending on the circumstances, either Johnson or Knaus have demonstrated an ability to flex with the car conditions, the track conditions and the competition.
A Short Memory- Without naming names, there are talented, notable, winning
drivers currently in a slump. For some, it seems like they get in a bad rut, and they start pressing. The harder they try to break out, the worse the results. To ignore the fact that Johnson and Knaus have made mistakes of their own is to gloss over an important lesson to be learned.
This team has its bad races. Jimmie’s overshot pit boxes, the “48″ has run out of gas, and like everybody else, they’ve fallen prey to bad luck. Have you ever seen either one of these guys press?
You have to learn the lessons of defeat and move on. That’s what the winners do. That’s how a Brett Favre could go from throwing four INTs in one game to throwing 4 TDs the next. As for Johnson and Knaus, its always “Slump, what slump?” They don’t have them!
Talent- There’s a lot of talent out on the track every week, including drivers who rarely or never win. That said, there can be no denying there are drivers, like Jimmie Johnson, who have an extra measure of it.
Think of the pass Johnson made on teammate Mark Martin for the lead on the restart after Juan Pablo Montoya’s pit road penalty. Martin was in his comfort zone on the inside line, but no matter, Johnson made the power move to pull out front.
How about the way he held off Martin in the closing laps? Jimmie Johnson kept at bay one of the most experienced and savvy veterans on the circuit. We don’t ordinarily think of “Mr. Opportunity” (as I like to call him) as this kind of driver, but he found a way to be three wide all by himself, playing the lines and angles in such a way that he defended his position without wrecking himself or his competitor in the process.
It’s a lot easier said than done.
There have been some talented tandems through the years…..Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Joe Walsh and Don Felder (you Eagles fans know what I’m talking about), and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. The world of NASCAR has had it share with Petty and Inman, Gordon and Evernham and Earnhardt and Petree. The duo of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus take their place alongside them as a classic example of what a combination of talent, preparation and determination can do.
And we get to watch them work their magic every week.
PHOTO CREDITS- Johnson and Knaus by Jason Smith/ Getty Images, Johnson with trophy by Getty Images for NASCAR media, Johnson’s wreck by adeliriousfan. To see more of her work, click on the hyperlink or visit flickr.com. Johnson victory celebration by Ezra Shaw/ Getty Images.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Jimmy should stop and proove himself. Chad could put a monkey in his car and win. Before Chad Jimmy sucked, Busch series! Get another ride see if it’s “the driver.”
One more thing. Those passes on outside of restart look stupid,Martin should clean him out. Less of a teammate your wrecked, Try really passing not cheap shots.
They say, “records are made to be broken” I predict that the next big one to fall will be the 3 consecutive championships.
If the Chad crewed 48 could win with a monkey, then Hendrick could save a hell of a lot of money by hiring one. Assuming he finds one with a NA$CAR license…. Until he does, my money’s on JJ.
The knock on JJ seems to be that he’s too vanilla, would people like him better if he smashed his next trophy?
@RMann
@Dawg
I wonder how many bananas it would take to make a monkey NASCAR driver happy? May be on to something.
Mr. Mann- my problem with your example is that it’s safe to say Johnson is more experienced than he was a a Busch Series driver. You know, Jeff Gordon was nothing special in that series either. I’m also not sure that 43 wins is all on the crew chief. There’s some decisions JJ has to make on his own, and I amy be wrong, but he looks like he generally handles those pretty well.
Hey Dawg- I’d bet JJ could make a heck of a mess with that trophy he won at Dover.
THX everyone. Evernham and Gordon, My Example. Look at Gordon after Evernham? Magic gone with Ray gone. I have more, Chad tells JJ when and how to do everything hence the “monkey could do it.” Nothing on chicken restarts passes? Later.
I think Tony Stewart may have something to say about Johnson winning a 4th championship. And when you talk about great combinations, you should remember Dale Earnhardt and Kirk Shelmerdine. And you have to admit, when it comes to luck, JJ has had plenty for the good.
I agree with Janine that Tony Stewart will have something to say about Jimmie winning number four. I also think Jeff Gordon will be a factor and I haven’t written off Carl Edwards yet. His season has basicly stunk by his standards but he still has a shot if he goes on a hot streak like last year. As far as Jimmie goes, it used to really anoy me that someone who was so unimpressive in the Busch series was all of a sudden winning all the time. I just could not figure it out.( I know Jeff was not great in Busch but he won more than one race and had a ton of polls. He showed potential) But sometimes in sport that happens. You see a guy who is so so in college become great in the NFL for instance. I have seen that more than once. Is Chad a big factor. Of course he is, but Jimmie is the one in the car. I have learned to accept it. I still might not like it alott, but I can accept it. It just makes it easier to watch the races. Now if only I can accept Kyle Busch. Naw I got to have someone to root against. LOL
@RMann- I’ll be looking at that pass and ask you more questions on that.
@Janine
@Joe W.- Here’s what you should know, and I think I can say this since I’m not a news site per se. As a fan, I’m not a JJ fan or apologist. Yet- the response (or lack of it) tells me something about acceptance of Johnson by the fans. One more win, and he ties the once wildly popular Bill Elliott. At the same time, I’ll bet Elliott may still have more fans than Jimmie. People like who they like, but I don’t get it. I know a few feircely loyal Jimmie fans, but there are guys who have accomplished much less but have a much bigger fan base. I guess even then I’d say thats fine, but I’m getting the feeling a lot of people see JJ as one of NASCAR’s “Fortunate Sons.” Besides Smoke, I see Gordon still in the mix the the #1 seeded Mark Martin- who may yet finally hit it big this year.
I think Gordons back pain is going to be an issue for him. It will be fun in November to see who’s right and who’s wrong.
First off I am not a JJ fan. But to write that a monkey could drive the car to victory lane is absurd. But Jimmie and Chad is a great combo. Credit Rick H and Jeff Gordon for that. Whenever there is radio communication aired on them there is never panic, screaming, name calling. Just great communication. Jimmie says what is happening factually and Chad makes the adjustments. I love how on lap 40 of a 160 lap race some people are paniking already. They don’t. Plus they figured out this COT better than anyone else has.
You’re right about Mark. If he has finally gotten the bad luck out of the way, so that he can make the chase. He is sure to be a factor in it.
@Janine. Time will tell. Back pain sucks.
@ Steve C. And besides the monkey may have a hard time reaching the pedals.
@ Joe W. I think the key for Mark will be to keep qualifying out front and pray, get a lucky rabbit’s foot and some garlic before the next Talladega race.
If they put a monkey in the #48 it wouldn’t be the first in NASCAR history. Look back at “Jocko” and Tim Flock!!! If Mark can keep getting the lead during a race, maybe the odor of Ben-Gay will choke the engines down of the cars behind him.
All joking aside, it is nice to see differing opinions being posted without references to someone’s intelligence or love of the sport and some humor thrown in for extra points!!!
Let’s try this:
Take all those drivers with big fan bases and few victories and poll them to see if they would trade their ‘big fan bases’ at the tracks for JJ’s 43 wins on the tracks. Wanna guess who many would do it in a heartbeat?