NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
COCA-COLA 600
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 25, 2021
CHAD KNAUS, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPETITION ~ Teleconference Transcript Highlights:
IT WAS A MONUMENTAL MOMENT FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT COTA. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU AND TO THE COMPANY?
“Oh, it was so many levels of coolness. Obviously, the inaugural event at COTA. Having that 268 kind of circled on my board now for about a year and a half as we’ve been approaching it. And to be able to get that 800th victory for Chevrolet was just awesome. The guys and gals that work here at Hendrick Motorsports over the years have all contributed on many levels to get these wins. To be able to tie Richard Petty Motorsports is just awesome. As I grew up as a young man, the king was the king, right? And everybody wanted to be like Richard Petty. I know the amount of respect that Mr. Hendrick and everybody here at Hendrick Motorsports has for Richard and his whole organization; it’s pretty awesome to be able to tie those guys.”
WHAT WINS STAND OUT THE MOST THAT PERSONIFY HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS THAT SHOW WHY THEY TIED THE PETTY RECORD?
“Oh, there are so many. I think back on the ones that I think were challenging that maybe we were able to pull off as an organization that maybe we shouldn’t have. The million-dollar win at Darlington with Jeff; we weren’t as fast as we needed to be that year. We made a bunch of changes to the race car throughout the course of the race and were able to come back and win that race. That’s a big one. There was a 600-mile race at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 that we won that we had an alternator issue. We had to change batteries toward the latter stages of the race. We were all the way back in the pack and were able to charge up past Bobby Labonte, I think it was, coming to the checkered. Those types of races and the tenacity I feel like we’ve had with our drivers, our teams, and our crew chiefs at Hendrick Motorsports is what really makes where we are today possible. There were a ton of races that were won prior to me ever getting here; for being a part of it. But I can tell you this. The reason I’m here is because I wanted to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports and a winning organization when I was a young man. There are a lot of pretty critical ones out there.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE 2004 WIN IN ATLANTA THE WEEK AFTER THE MARTINSVILLE TRAGEDY? WHAT DID THAT DO FOR THE ORGANIZATION?
“Obviously, in 2004 we won at Martinsville. That day was tragic. I’ll never forget that day. It was tough. But the thing that I remember the most is going to Mr. Hendrick’s house that night and the strength that we had saying we’re going to keep going. We’re going to keep doing this and showing up at Hendrick Motorsports and saying we’re going to go to Atlanta. We’re going to race. And for us to be able to go there and race that next event as an organization in the manner of which we did, which was tough; it was really hard to get through the weekend. But what was really amazing is once we dropped the green flag, everybody knew what we were there to do. We were there to try to win that race. And we battled Mark Martin at the very end and were able to beat him. That was one that really set this organization up for a can’t lose, never die situation.”
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY STOCK CARS ARE JUST NOT GOOD IN THE RAIN? IS THERE AN ANSWER TO THAT?
“I don’t know that any car is quote unquote good in the rain, right? Street cars that are designed to be driven in inclement weather, if it’s raining out, it’s hard to see. You slow down, right? That’s kind of what it is. Quite honestly, I felt like our cars performed extremely well in the rain situations. The drivers were able to steer, turn, accelerate, race; I think they performed really well. The issue was the spray. So, the visibility is difficult. That’s like that in any form of racing or on the street. You’re going to deal with that. So, I don’t think that our car is bad in wet conditions per se. I think it actually performed really well. So, I’m not trying to twist you up on that. I’m just saying I don’t think there’s any car that’s really good in the rain when you’re behind somebody else. That’s a tough position to be in.”
SO, IS IT A MATTER OF KNOWING HOW WATER IS TOO MUCH WATER TO COMPETE IN AND NOT NECESSARILY THE CAR BEING THE ISSUE?
“There’s probably an element to that, for sure. I think the only way to learn is to do. And could some decisions have been made? NASCAR has admitted it. Could single file restarts at little bit sooner helped? Yeah, I don’t disagree. But you know that. Just like racing on the dirt. You don’t know that until you do it. And you learn from your mistakes. So, it’s an environmental thing where you’ve just got to get yourself immersed in there. You’ve got to do it. You’ve got to get in the environment; understand the situations, and then make decisions as you go. That’s unfortunately what we have to do. I think NASCAR did the best job they could under the circumstances, and I feel like they learned a lot. And we’ll just grow from it.”
WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING IN YOUR NEW ROLE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AND WHEN MIGHT YOU HAVE EVEN MORE INPUT IN THAT ROLE?
“Look, it’s hard for me to know exactly my contribution. You would have to ask people that are probably working with me and alongside me that question. We’ve been working really hard since the middle of last year as an organization to get flipped and to get our performance where we needed it because we weren’t where we needed to be. And that wasn’t a happy place for anybody at Hendrick Motorsports. We decided at that point, as a company, that we were going to put our heads down and get to work and right the ship. By the end of the season, we were fortunate enough to get out there and win a couple of races in a row and pull off the championship in pretty dominating fashion with the No. 9 car. I think we’ve been going down this path for a while, right? Have I helped? I hope so. If I’m not contributing, I’m probably not going to keep this job for very long (laughs).
“We’ve really put our heads down. We’ve really focused on performance and teamwork and working with one another (by) bringing in an amazing crew chief, like Rudy Fugle, to be able to work alongside Cliff (Daniels) and Alan (Gustafson) and Greg (Ives) I think was a huge asset and a huge boost to our company. And then you bring in a guy like Kyle Larson, who is an amazing driver; and put him alongside the other drivers that we’ve had and been growing here at the company, and you’ve got a pretty good army of folks to go to the race track with, right? I think that’s what you’re seeing is a lot of the fruit from the labor and the effort and the work that these guys and our teams and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports has been putting out there. The pit crews are knocking off really good pit stops consistently, which is great. So, there are a lot of things that are going right that are months in the works. Hopefully we have more to come.”
CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE CURRENTLY TECHNOLOGY THE TEAMS USE TO MONITOR WEATHER?
“If you’re talking directly to the rain, when we made our decisions on wets versus dries and all of that at the beginning of the race, clearly nobody had it right. Every race team had a couple going in each direction. We, unfortunately just like a weatherman on TV. You’re lucky if you get it about 75 percent. And that’s kind of it. We have our weather apps and programs. We do all the things most people do. But weather is weather, and it changes quickly. At a track as large as COTA, it’s really difficult to manage that. You can have a band of showers that goes across one portion of the track and on the other side, it’s not that bad. One thing that was really interesting last weekend was the way that the pit road is, with a tower of suites behind there, three of our teams were kind of where the suites were and the No. 5 car, on the first pit box, was outside of that. I’m sitting on the No. 48 pit box and man it’s not raining that bad. You could see sprinkles coming down. I hopped down and walked down to the No. 5 pit box and those guys were soaked to the bone. You just don’t know that if you’re not in the environment. Still, the best weather app is just taking your hat off and seeing if it’s raining or not and then you can stick it back on.”
ARE YOU GETTING PARTS AND PIECES FOR THE NEXT GET CAR? WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU’LL HAVE A CAR READY TO GO FOR A SESSION?
“We have tests scheduled at Bristol in August. That’ll be a first on-track with that. We are starting to slowly get some parts and components in. It’s going to be quite a transition and quite a process, but it’s an exciting one for sure, and it’s the future of our sport. I’m glad to be a part of it and a part of the transition because it’s going to be unique how we pivot, how we change, how we test this car, how we race this car, how we inspect this car. It’s all going to be brand new and we’re going to be learning together as an industry.”
ANOTHER BIG NUMBER FOR YOU IS GOING TO BE 269. IT’S NOT A MATTER OF IF, BUT WHEN. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND WHAT IT WILL MEAN TO THE ORGANIZATION AND HOW MUCH RICK HENDRICK HAS PLAYED A PART IN THIS SPORT?
“We’ve had 268 circled for so long, I don’t even know what 269 is going to be like yet. We’re really excited to be right there, close to being able to get that. The 600 would be an awesome time for us to get it right here in Hendrick Motorsports’ back yard. It would be great to get that before the season is out. That’s definitely the goal. What Mr. Hendrick has done for this industry and the racing community is nothing short of great. He has contributed in so many manners and touched so many people’s lives. Whether you’ve worked with him or raced against him; surely, he’s done something for you in some capacity. To have that presence in our sport is just fantastic. It’s going to be an honor to celebrate that with him. I’m a huge Rick Hendrick fan. He has been a metric to me since I was 21 years old and has really helped me along with my career. I’m just happy to be a part of it. I can’t wait to give him a big hug after we get it and we can go and hopefully get more.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
