hearing that #48 Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Chad Knaus may leave the team and driver Jimmie Johnson and go back to Evernham Motorsports [was one of Evernham’s first hires, until moving to #92 Melling team in 2001], then Hendrick Motorsports in 2002 to crew chief Johnson.
UPDATE: Hendrick Motorsports says Knaus has no plans to leave Hendrick Motorsports and has multiple years remaining on his contract.(12-2-2005)
UPDATE 2: hearing some crew members from the #48 Lowe’s Hendrick Motorsports team have left and gone to Evernham Motorsports recently and that one of the Evernham’s engineers could be headed over to be the crew chief on the #48.(12-19-2005)
UPDATE 3: Chad Knaus is not leaving Hendrick Motorsports. It seemed inevitable at the end of the 2005 season, and the rumor is still hot, but Knaus told [Marty Smith] late last week he is working with HMS officials on a new long-term contract that will keep him atop the #48 pit box for the foreseeable future, and he was in the wind tunnel with the #48 team last week. Many key HMS crewmembers, however, have departed the #24/#48 shop during the offseason. No less than four crewmembers are gone from the #48 team, one to Robert Yates Racing, another to Richard Childress Racing, another to Evernham Motorsports and another to Bill Davis Racing. Sources close to HMS said the #24 team lost roughly the same number of crewmen, and to the same teams.(NASCAR.com/Marty Smith)(1-4-2006)
