Chad Knaus, Crew Chief for the winning #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson, was named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sunday’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Lightening quick pit stops helped ensure Johnson stay near or at the top of the running order all day in the Valley of the Sun. The team started from the pole, led the most laps and cruised to the victory, extending their championship point lead to 141 over Carl Edwards. Johnson needs to finish 36th or better in this weekend’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to capture the team’s third consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship. Also at the Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend, Wypall will announce the 2008 Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year during a press conference in the track’s media center at 5:45pm on Friday. The winner will be presented a check for $20,000. The 2008 Wypall Wipers Crew Chief Challenge was a season-long contest that determined the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. Following each Cup race, a panel voted to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race. It wasn’t necessarily the crew chief that went to victory lane, but the crew chief that made the biggest difference to his team. Representatives from Wypall Wipers, together with FOX/Speed television analyst Jeff Hammond, and three of NASCAR’s top crew chiefs who represent Wypall, including Todd Berrier of the Richard Childress Racing #29 Shell Pennzoil Chevy team, Osborne of the Roush Fenway Racing #99 Office Depot Ford team, and Kenny Francis of the Gillett Evernham Motorsports #9 Budweiser Dodge team, made up the panel of judges. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief received signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. For more information about the Wypall Wipers program, log onto www.Wypall.com.(11-12-2008)
