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  • Almirola to reach 350 Cup starts at Texas

    Almirola to reach 350 Cup starts at Texas

    A significant milestone is in the making for Aric Almirola, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, Almirola will achieve his 350th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Tampa, Florida, Almirola’s debut in NASCAR’s premier series occurred at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2007. By then, he made 10 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 29 starts in the Truck Series. Driving the No. 80 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, Almirola started 31st and finished 41st in his Cup debut after being involved in an early accident.

    Later in the 2007 season, Almirola transitioned from Joe Gibbs Racing to Dale Earnhardt Inc. and he piloted the No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet in five of the remaining 13 scheduled Cup races. His best result during his five-race stretch with DEI was 30th place, which occurred at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

    In 2008, Almirola remained with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and served as a co-primary driver of the No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala along with veteran Mark Martin. Following the first four races of the season, Almirola made his first Cup start of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he collected his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He made 11 additional starts throughout the 2008 Cup season, where he collected two 13th-place results in the fall and led 53 laps at Martinsville Speedway in October before being shuffled back to a 20th-place result. He capped off the season by finishing in 35th place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.

    Almirola started the 2009 season as a full-time Cup Series competitor of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He started the season by finishing in 30th place in the Daytona 500 after being involved in two separate incidents. Following the first seven races of the season, however, Almirola’s full-time Cup ride with DEI came to an end due to sponsorship issues. He, ultimately, went on to compete in four Xfinity and 16 Truck Series races throughout the 2009 season.

    For the 2010 season, Almirola started the season with plans of competing on a full-time basis in the Cup Series with Phoenix Racing while also racing in the Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports. Following the first seven races of the season, where he failed to qualify for three and finished no higher than 39th, he parted ways with Phoenix Racing and competed the remainder of the season with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series, where he went on to win his first two Truck career races and finish in second place in the final standings. He also competed in eight Xfinity races with JR Motorsports. In October, Almirola served as an interim competitor of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports at Martinsville after Kasey Kahne left RPM for Red Bull Racing. Almirola ended up competing in the final five Cup races of the season with RPM, where he notched a career-best fourth-place result in the season finale at Homestead in November.

    After spending the 2011 season in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, where he finished in fourth place in the final standings, Almirola returned to the Cup Series for the 2012 season as a full-time competitor of the iconic No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola started the 2012 season by finishing in 33rd place in the season-opening Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. His best result during the first nine races was an eighth-place result at Martinsville in April.

    For the next scheduled race at Talladega Superspeedway, Almirola was paired with veteran Mike Ford, who replaced Greg Erwin. Finishing in 12th place at Talladega and in 19th place the following week at Darlington Raceway, Almirola captured his first Cup career pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite finishing in 16th place in the Coke 600, Almirola rebounded the following week at Dover International Speedway by finishing in sixth place. 

    From Pocono Raceway in June through Richmond Raceway in September, Almirola finished no higher than 17th place on the track. After missing the Playoffs, he was paired with veteran Todd Parrott for the upcoming race at Chicagoland Speedway. For the remaining 10 Cup races of the season, Almirola captured one top-five result, two top-10 results, a total of 72 laps led and a 20th-place result in the final standings.

    Remaining with Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2013 Cup season, Almirola started the season by finishing 13th in the Daytona 500 before finishing 15th the following race at Phoenix Raceway. Following the first 10 Cup races of the season, he was coming off four consecutive top-10 results and was in eighth place in the regular-season standings. The consistency for Almirola and the No. 43 team, however, did not last for the remainder of the regular-season stretch, as he achieved only one top-five result and failed to make the Playoffs. He went on to conclude the 2013 season in 18th place in the final standings along with six top-10 results and a career-best average result of 18.8. Following the 2013 season, Almirola surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    Prior to the 2014 season, which marked Almirola’s third season with Richard Petty Motorsports, RPM announced a three-year contract extension for Almirola to remain as driver of the No. 43 Ford with Smithfield Foods and its brands serving as key primary sponsors. Almirola was also paired with crew chief Trent Owens.

    Almirola started the 2014 season with a 39th-place result in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. Three races later, he captured his first top-three result in the Cup circuit after finishing in third place at Bristol Motor Speedway behind Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    Entering Daytona International Speedway in July, Almirola achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results, with an opportunity grab an upset victory and race his way into the 2014 Cup Playoffs. During the race, Almirola dodged two multi-car accidents and outlasted the field, including late challenges from Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Casey Mears, to retain the lead when the race was red-flagged and deemed official on Lap 112 due to rain, thus giving Almirola his first Cup career victory in his 125th series start. Almirola’s first Cup win marked the first win for the Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 car since 1999, which was last made by the late John Andretti. The victory also occurred 30 years to the day where Richard Petty recorded his unprecedented 200th and final NASCAR win at Daytona. With his victory, Almirola clinched a spot for the 2014 Cup Playoffs.

    Following his upset victory at Daytona, Almirola recorded two top-10 results for the remaining eight regular-season races before entering the Playoffs and as one of 16 competitors with an opportunity to win the championship. Following finishes of 41st, sixth and 28th in the first three races of the Playoffs, Almirola was one of four competitors who were eliminated from title contention. Despite the early exit from title contention, he went on to finish the season in 16th place in the final standings and with a career-high seven top-10 results.

    Determined to return to the Playoffs, Almirola started the 2015 Cup season with a 15th-place result in the Daytona 500 followed by an 11th-place run at Atlanta. Through 25 of the 26-race regular-season stretch, he achieved only one top-five result and 13 top-15 results. During the regular-season finale at Richmond in September, Almirola recorded a strong fourth-place result, but he missed the Playoffs by 17 points. He went on to record one additional top-five run and four top-10 results for the remaining 10 Playoff races before finishing in 17th place in the final standings. In addition, he achieved a career-best result of 17.9, compared to his average result of 21.4 in 2014 when he won a race and made the Playoffs.

    Remaining with Richard Petty Motorsports for a fifth consecutive season, Almirola started the 2016 season with a 12th-place result in the Daytona 500. He finished in 15th place the following race at Atlanta despite being involved in a four-car wreck during overtime. Compared to his previous two seasons, the 2016 season was a down season for Almirola, who achieved only one top-10 result and an average result of 23.3 before concluding the season in 26th place in the final standings. Following the 2016 season, Almirola surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    Returning for a sixth full-time Cup season with RPM and with new full-time crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, Almirola started the season on a high note by finishing in fourth place in the Daytona 500. For the first 10 races of the season, he achieved three top-10 results, despite being penalized 35 points following the recent event at Talladega for a post-race infraction. 

    For the following race at Kansas Speedway, Almirola was involved in a late harrowing accident involving Danica Patrick and Joey Logano, where he could not slow his No. 43 Smithfield Ford in time and rammed into Logano at full speed as the rear end of Almirola’s car came off the ground amid a shower of sparks. Following the incident, where Logano and Patrick were able to emerge uninjured, Almirola had to be extricated from his car and placed on a stretcher, where he was airlifted to the University of Kansas Hospital. It was later determined that he had suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae. While Almirola spent time recovering from his injuries, he was absent for eight races, including the All-Star Open/Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During his absence, Regan Smith, Bubba Wallace and Billy Johnson each took turns piloting the No. 43 Smithfield Ford.

    In July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola returned to the track and finished in 24th place. Despite missing the Playoffs, he remained in the No. 43 seat for the remaining 18 races of the season, where he collected three top-10 results and finished in 29th place in the final standings. He also recorded an average result of 18.8.

    In September, two months before the season’s conclusion, Almirola and Smithfield Foods announced their departure from RPM at season’s end. Two months later, both announced that they will be joining Stewart-Haas Racing and the No. 10 Ford team led by Johnny Klausmeier for the 2018 Cup Series season.

    Three months later, Almirola made his first Cup start with SHR in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the event, he ran consistently and was able to move into the lead over Denny Hamlin at the start of the final lap. Entering the backstretch, Almirola continued to lead, though he had Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace closing in on him for the lead and the win. Entering Turn 3, however, Dillon made contact and turned Almirola, which sent Almirola’s No. 10 Ford into the outside wall and out of contention while Dillon went on to win. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane in one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel events, Almirola ended his race in 11th place and with a wrecked race car. 

    For the first 16 Cup races of the season, Almirola recorded seven top-10 results and 14 top-15 results, as he was also ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to record three additional top-10 results and secure a spot in the 2018 Playoffs based on points and following a strong consistent regular-season stretch with no victories. 

    Almirola opened his second appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender by finishing sixth at Las Vegas and in fifth at Richmond. Despite finishing in 19th place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, he was able to transfer into the Round of 12 in the Playoffs on a three-way tie-breaker along with Kyle Larson and over Jimmie Johnson.

    After leading 64 laps and finishing 13th the following week at Dover due to being involved in a late multi-car incident, Almirola came into the following race at Talladega Superspeedway with a “Checkers or Wreckers” mindset. After spending the majority of the race running towards the front with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, he capitalized on a late restart and with teammate Kurt Busch running out of fuel on the final lap to hold off teammate Clint Bowyer and capture his first elusive victory of the season. With his second Cup career win and first with SHR, Almirola transferred into the Round of 8 in the 2018 Cup Playoffs.

    After finishing 10th the following week at Kansas, Almirola finished 11th, eighth and fourth in the Round of 8. Despite the results, he failed to advance to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished ninth. Though he missed an opportunity to contend for his first Cup title, Almirola capped off a successful and productive 2018 season with SHR with a win, a career-high four top-five result, a career-high 17 top-10 results, a career-high 181 laps led and a career-best points result of fifth place.

    With the 2018 season complete, Almirola approached the 2019 season with high aspirations of being a title threat and contending for wins, beginning with the 61st running of the Daytona 500. His season, however, started off on a low note when he was involved in a late multi-car accident and ended his run in 29th place. He rebounded the following six weeks by finishing in the top 10 in all of them. 

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Almirola and the No. 10 Smithfield/SHR team achieved 10 top-10 results, as Almirola qualified for his third Cup Playoffs as a title contender. After finishing 13th, 16th and 14th through the first three races of the Playoffs, however, he was eliminated from title contention. Unable to produce a late rally for this year’s title run, he went on to capture two top-five results, including a season-best second place behind teammate Kevin Harvick at Texas Motor Speedway in November, and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings despite not winning once throughout the season. Following the 2019 season, Almirola surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    Almirola remained with SHR for the 2020 season, but was paired with crew chief Mike Bugarewicz while Johnny Klausmeier was reassigned. For the third consecutive year, Almirola’s season started off on a down note after he was involved in a late multi-car accident that took him out of contention of winning his first 500 title.

    Following the first 11 Cup races of this season, Almirola achieved three top-10 results and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings. For the next scheduled race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Almirola and the No. 10 team began to turn the tide as they went on a nine-race stretch of finishing in the top five or top 10 on the track. After finishing in seventh place at New Hampshire in July, he was ranked in eighth place in the regular-season standings. Ultimately, he went on to record two additional top-10 results and secure a spot in this year’s Playoffs, which marked his fourth career appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender.

    Entering the 2020 Cup Playoffs with momentum and high expectations, Almirola advanced into the Round of 12 after finishing ninth, eighth and fifth in the first round of the Playoffs spanning three races. His momentum, however, came to an end during the second round, where he finished 17th, 37th and 16th during the following three races and failed to advance to the Round of 8. He went on to finish in 13th place in last weekend’s event at Kansas.

    Through October 2020, Almirola has achieved two Cup career victories, two poles, 24 top-five results and 78 top-10 results in 349 previous starts in the Cup circuit. He is set to remain with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2021 Cup Series season.

    Catch Almirola’s milestone start at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 25, at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Chad Knaus set for 700th Cup race as crew chief at Richmond

    Chad Knaus set for 700th Cup race as crew chief at Richmond

    A major milestone is the making for Chad Knaus, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief who is currently calling the shots for 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contender William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. When the green flag waves in the upcoming Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, Knaus will reach 700 Cup races as a crew chief.

    A native of Rockford, Illinois, Knaus worked with his father, John, in races across the Midwest as he was also a crew chief for his father, who competed for the Rockford Speedway title. Together, they won a Great Northern Series championship and finished as the runner-up contender in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series. 

    In 1991, Knaus relocated to North Carolina to pursue a career in NASCAR. After starting his stock car career working for owner/competitor Stanley Smith, he teamed up with Hendrick Motorsports and worked his way up from being a general fabricator to a chassis and body construction manager for five seasons and while being part of the No. 24 DUPONT/HMS team driven by Jeff Gordon and led by crew chief Ray Evernham. Knaus was also a rear tire changer for Gordon’s No. 24 team and he was a part of the 1995 and 1997 championship seasons with Gordon.

    In 1998, Knaus moved to Dale Earnhardt Inc. and worked as a car chief for the team’s No. 1 car driven between Steve Park and Darrell Waltrip. He went on to work for Tyler Jet Motorsports and Melling Racing, where he led the Dodge development team and worked with Stacy Compton before he was promoted to crew chief for three races towards the conclusion of the 2000 season (two with Casey Atwood and one with Stacy Compton). For the 2001 Cup Series season, Knaus remained as a full-time crew chief for Compton. Throughout the 2001 season, Knaus achieved two poles and one top-10 result with Compton. He was also suspended for two races due to a seatbelt violation in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Compton failed to qualify for two races throughout the season.

    In 2002, Knaus rejoined Hendrick Motorsports to serve as crew chief for El Cajon, California’s Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team. In their first run together, Johnson won the pole position for the 2002 Daytona 500 with a pole-winning lap at 185.831 mph. After finishing 15th at the Daytona 500 in February and recording six top-10 results in the following eight races, Johnson and Knaus both achieved their first Cup career win at Auto Club Speedway in April. Overall, Johnson and Knaus won three Cup races and four poles as they also achieved six top-five results and 21 top-10 results before they concluded the season in fifth place in the standings, though Johnson was beaten by Ryan Newman for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    In 2003, Johnson’s sophomore season in the Cup Series, the combo achieved three victories, two poles, 14 top-five results and 20 top-10 results before concluding the season in the runner-up position in the final standings behind the champion Matt Kenseth. Following the 2003 season, Knaus surpassed 100 Cup starts as a crew chief. Throughout the following season, 2004, the combo recorded a season-high eight wins along with a pole, 20 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Among the victories achieved between the two in 2004 included both Darlington races, both Pocono Raceway events, a second consecutive Coca-Cola 600 win, a win at Martinsville Speedway in October and a feel good victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway the following race and following a Hendrick Motorsports plane accident that claimed the lives of team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, two nieces, brother/president of HMS, lead engine builder, general manager, among others. Despite the victories and a productive junior season, Johnson and Knaus fell eight points shy of the title to Kurt Busch and veteran Jimmy Fennig. 

    In 2005, Johnson and Knaus achieved four victories, a pole, 13 top-five results and 22 top-10 results as they were the only Hendrick Motorsports team that had an opportunity to win the overall championship. During the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, however, Johnson wrecked just shy of the midway mark and he concluded the season in fifth place in the standings while Tony Stewart went on to win his second Cup title.

    Knaus started off the 2006 season on a rough note after he was caught making an illegal adjustment to the rear window of Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, thus being suspended for the first four Cup races of the season while Darian Grubb served as Johnson’s interim crew chief. Following the first four races, where Johnson and Grubb won the Daytona 500 and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Knaus returned atop the pit box at Bristol in March. They achieved their first victory of the season at Talladega Superspeedway in May followed by the All-Star Race at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. Entering the postseason as a championship favorite, Johnson and Knaus, however, struggled during the first four races as they finished no nigher than 13th on track. They rallied at Charlotte in October as Johnson went on a five-race streak of finishing no worse than second place and picking up a win at Martinsville. After finishing in ninth place in the finale at Homestead in November, Johnson and Knaus achieved their first Cup championship by 56 points over Kenseth. With Knaus atop the pit box, Johnson won three races (five overall), one pole, 10 top-five results (13 overall) and 20 top-10 results (24 overall). By then, Knaus surpassed 200 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    In 2007, Johnson and Knaus won a season-high 10 races, which included sweeping the pair of season races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and at Richmond Raceway. When the checkered flag waved in the finale at Homestead, Johnson finished in seventh place as he and Knaus achieved their second consecutive Cup championship following a season-long battle with teammates Jeff Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte. Knaus also rallied from being suspended for six races throughout the summer following an inspection issue involving the templates on Johnson’s car at Sonoma Raceway (an issue that was also noted on Gordon’s car and resulted in a six-race suspension for Letarte).

    In 2008, Johnson, Knaus and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team rallied from a slow start to achieve seven victories, six poles, 15 top-five results and 22 top-10 results throughout the season. When the checkered flag waved in the finale at Homestead, Johnson finished in 15th place and earned his record-tying third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship by 69 points over Carl Edwards, who had won nine races throughout the season. While Johnson tied NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough in achieving three consecutive Cup championships and Hendrick Motorsports recorded its eighth overall title, Knaus made history as he became the first Cup crew chief in history to achieve three consecutive titles as he accomplished the feat in his eighth full-time season as a crew chief.

    The winning dynasty between Johnson and Knaus, however, did not stop there as both achieved seven victories, four poles, 16 top-five results and 24 top-10 results throughout the 2009 Cup season. Following the finale at Homestead, where Johnson brought his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to a fifth-place result, he achieved his record-setting fourth consecutive Cup championship by 141 points over teammate/NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. As a result, HMS achieved its ninth title while Knaus became the first crew chief to win four consecutive Cup titles. In addition, Knaus surpassed 300 starts as a crew chief.

    Throughout the 2010 season, Johnson, Knaus and the No. 48 Lowe’s team achieved six victories, two poles, 17 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Among the season highlights included winning for the first time at Bristol Motor Speedway and at Sonoma Raceway. Entering the finale at Homestead, they were trailing Denny Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford by 15 points. Following the finale, Johnson finished in second place and achieved his record-setting fifth consecutive Cup championship by 39 points over Hamlin, who finished 14th, and 41 over Kevin Harvick, who finished third. With Johnson’s accomplishment, Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 10th Cup title while Knaus became the first crew chief to win five consecutive Cup titles. In addition, Knaus surpassed Kirk Shelmerdine into second place on the all-time crew chief championship list in just his 10th season as a Cup crew chief.

    In 2011, Johnson and Knaus achieved two victories (Talladega and Kansas), 14 top-five results and 21 top-10 results, but the results were not enough for both of them to extend their championship run to six consecutive years as they concluded the season in sixth place in the final standings. At the start of the 2012 season, Knaus was at the center of controversy when Johnson’s No. 48 car failed pre-race inspection prior to the Daytona 500. Initially fined $100,000, suspended for six races and Johnson docked 25 points, Knaus was later spared from the suspension and the points dock, though he was still fined. Despite winning five races throughout the 2012 season, including the All-Star Race at Charlotte, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at Darlington Raceway while recording the 200th Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports with Johnson, misfortunes during the final two races prevented Johnson and Knaus from winning their sixth title as Brad Keselowski, crew chief Paul Wolfe and team owner Roger Penske went on to claim their first title. Following the 2012 season, Knaus surpassed 400 starts as a crew chief.

    In 2013, which marked the debut of the Generation 6 stock car and the new Chevrolet SS, Johnson and Knaus started the season on a high note by winning the Daytona 500 in February. While Johnson achieved his second Daytona 500 title and Hendrick Motorsports achieved its seventh, Knaus achieved his first 500 title as a crew chief. The dominance between Johnson, Knaus and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team did not stop there as they went on to win six races, including the non-point All-Star Race. Among the records Johnson broke in 2013 included becoming the first four-time winner of the All-Star Race, winning his record eighth race at Dover and becoming the first Cup competitor to sweep Daytona since NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison made the last accomplishment in 1982. Johnson and Knaus also went on to achieve three poles, 16 top-five results and 24 top-10 results. When the checkered flag flew in the finale at Homestead, Johnson finished ninth and achieved his sixth Cup championship by 19 points over Kenseth. With Johnson and Knaus each achieving their sixth title and Hendrick Motorsports achieving its 11th overall, the talks about the driver and crew chief of the No. 48 team achieving an unprecedented seventh title began to circulate approaching the 2014 season.

    From 2014 to 2015, Johnson and Knaus won a total of nine races (including their fourth Coca-Cola 600 victory and a first win at Michigan International Speedway) and two poles as they also achieved 25 top-five results and 42 top-10 results. During both seasons, however, Johnson was unable to compete for the championship as his best points result was a 10th-place result in 2015. Prior to the conclusion of the 2015 season, Knaus achieved 500 starts as a crew chief.

    In 2016, which marked Johnson and Knaus’ 15th season of racing and working together with the No. 48 Lowe’s/HMS team, Johnson started the season by finishing 16th in the Daytona 500 before he won the following race at Atlanta and tied the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt on the all-time Cup wins list with 76 wins. Johnson achieved his second victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway in March and was consistent throughout the regular season to make the Playoffs. In October, Johnson won at Charlotte and transferred to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs for the first time in his career. He went on to win at Martinsville for the ninth time in his career and earn one of four spots to the Championship Round at Homestead in November with an opportunity to compete for the title. Throughout the finale, Johnson struggled and was behind his other three opponents (Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano) in the late stages. During the final 10 laps, however, Johnson benefitted on short-run speed, a late multi-car pileup involving Edwards and Logano, two late restarts and a two-lap shootout to win the finale and achieve his record-tying seventh Cup championship. Johnson’s accomplishment made him the third competitor to achieve seven Cup titles alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt while Hendrick Motorsports achieved its 12th title. In addition, Knaus and Johnson tied Richard Petty and Dale Inman in achieving the most Cup championships by a driver-crew chief combo as Knaus moved himself in being one title shy of tying Inman for the most titles at eight.

    The following season, 2017, Johnson won three races, including his 11th victory at Dover and his seventh triumph at Texas Motor Speedway, and he recorded four top-five results and 11 top-10 results. Though he and Knaus made the Playoffs, their hopes for a record-setting eighth championship came to an end in the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix after Johnson wrecked and finished 39th. They went on to conclude the season in 10th place in the final standings. By then, Knaus surpassed 600 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    In 2018, Johnson and Knaus went winless for the first in their racing careers as Johnson only achieved two top-five results and 11 top-10 results before concluding the season in 14th place in the final standings.

    Following a 17-year run with Johnson that included winning seven championships and 81 Cup career wins, Knaus moved over from the No. 48 team to the No. 24 team to serve as crew chief for William Byron, the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and the reigning Cup Rookie-of-the-Year recipient. In their first race paired together, Byron recorded the pole position for the 2019 Daytona 500 after he and his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet posted a pole-winning speed at 194.305 mph. The accomplishment made between Byron and Knaus allowed Hendrick Motorsports to achieve its fifth consecutive Daytona 500 pole and the qualifying session was capped off with an HMS front row sweep for the main event as Alex Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives earned the other front row spot. Ironically, Byron’s first career pole at Daytona mirrored Johnson’s first career pole for the 500, both of which came under Knaus’ leadership.

    Byron and Knaus started off the Daytona 500 with a 21st-place after Byron was involved in a late accident. After finishing no higher than 15th place the following five races, they achieved their first top-10 result at Texas Motor Speedway in April (sixth place). Their next top-10 result came at Dover in May, where Byron finished eighth. During the Monster Energy Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Byron edged Bubba Wallace by a nose to transfer to his first All-Star Race appearance. Byron’s accomplishment allowed Knaus to extend his All-Star Race appearance to 18 consecutive seasons while the No. 24 car made its return to the main event following a one-year absence. Byron went on to finish ninth place in the All-Star event. The following two points races (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Pocono Raceway), Byron started on pole position and finished ninth. The combo went on to achieve five additional top-10 results, including a career-best second place at Daytona in July and a fourth-place run at Indianapolis in September, to qualify for the 2019 Cup Playoffs. For the remaining 10 races of this season, Byron, Knaus and the No. 24 team achieved four top-10 results, including another runner-up result at Martinsville in October, before they concluded the season in 11th place in the final standings and after being eliminated from title contention following the second round in the Playoffs. Overall, Byron achieved five poles, five top-five results and 13 top-10 results in his sophomore Cup season.

    The combo started this season by winning the second Duel race at Daytona to line in fourth place for the Daytona 500, but they finished in last place of the 40-car field after being involved in a single-car wreck past the one-quarter mark of the race. Through the first 25 regular-season races together and despite being absent at Kansas Speedway while he and his wife Brooke were anticipating the birth of their daughter in July, Byron and Knaus have achieved one top-five result and seven top-10 results.

    Entering the regular-season finale at Daytona, they were four points above the top-16 cutline ahead of teammates Jimmie Johnson and Cliff Daniels in their bid to make this year’s Playoffs. When the checkered flag flew, Byron was able to hold off the field and claim his first Cup career win in his 98th series start. While he recorded his first victory, Knaus claimed his 82nd Cup career win and first since June 2017 at Dover. The win at Daytona guaranteed the No. 24 team into the Playoffs as Knaus made his 17th consecutive postseason appearance as a title contender.

    Byron and Knaus are coming off a fifth-place result in last Sunday’s Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. They are ranked in ninth place in the Playoff standings and are nine points above the top-12 cutline in an effort to qualify for the second round in the Cup Playoffs.

    Catch crew chief Chad Knaus’ milestone start at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 12, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.