NASCAR team boss who didn’t like ‘The Chase’ makes – Sports News
Chad Knaus (proper) helped Jimmie Johnson (left) win seven Cup Series titles (Image: Getty)
NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell introduced on Monday that its three national collection can be switching from the Playoffs back to an up to date model of its predecessor, ‘The Chase,’ to determine every collection’ champion.
Brought in back in 2004 to exchange NASCAR’s typical full-season championship, ‘The Chase’ in its varied types went on to determine the champion via the 2013 season, when it was changed by the tournament-style Playoffs.
But with strain having mounted on NASCAR to make a change, with criticism rife surrounding the 3-3-3-1 Playoff system, all through 2025, a committee, NASCAR bosses, and TV executives labored to finally land on a 10-race, 16-driver ‘Chase’ format as the best direction for the group.
One NASCAR boss uniquely positioned to touch upon the return of ‘The Chase’ is Hendrick Motorsports’ Chad Knaus, the present vice president of competitors, who served as Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief from 2002 via 2018, profitable seven championships, six of which got here within the years of ‘The Chase.’
Responding to the latest announcement during an look on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Knaus defined his stance that the return of ‘The Chase’ was “a positive” on the entire, though he admitted that he wasn’t at all times a fan of the format.
2013 marked NASCAR’s most up-to-date ‘Chase’ season (Image: Getty)
“Anything that can simplify the format so it’s easier for our fans and for our teams and our partners to understand, I think is a good thing,” he stated. “I grew up in the era of the 36 race format, or however many events that we had throughout the course of the season, and you just worked on the tally, and there you were. So it’s very familiar.
“Then obviously, like you mentioned, ‘The Chase’ format showed up. And I can be frank, when ‘The Chase’ format showed up, none of us really liked that either. So there’s always going to be people that don’t like something or it doesn’t appeal to somebody.
“But the way that I always approached it as a crew chief, and I still do to this day, is what the rules are, they are. And the people that can be fluid and adapt the best are going to be the ones that are most successful.”
That being stated, this time round, ‘The Chase’ will likely be a little totally different as not solely will ultimate race standings play a main function, particularly with wins now price 55 factors as a substitute of 40, however stage factors will stay in play – one thing which has solely been in play since 2017.
Knaus predicted that these factors will proceed to “accumulate pretty quickly and can have a pretty big bearing on what happens.” Regardless, he remained “excited about it,” including that he believes the general change is a good one, which may ship “good for things.”
Somewhat paradoxically, the primary Cup Series race back because the announcement of the return of ‘The Chase’ will see Hendrick taking over Johnson on the Daytona 500. The now semi-retired 50-year-old is the proprietor of Legacy Motor Club and, since 2023, has continued to look within the Cup Series on a part-time foundation, together with annually in Florida.
In 2025, this paid off with a team-best end for the season of third for Johnson within the No. 84 Toyota, marking his best ever end within the present NextGen car.
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