Crew Chief Corner: Chad Knaus

Martinsville is notorious for taking its toll on a car

Team Lowe's had a great run at Talladega last weekend. The finish might not have been what we were looking for, but we lead the most laps, stayed out of trouble, consistently ran up front, and were in contention all afternoon. It's unfortunate that we had the late spin, but I think that we proved we will be a team to contend with on the restrictor plate tracks in the future.

I'm sure a lot of you are interested in hearing my side of the yellow-line issue, but what's done is done. Now it's time to move on and concentrate on Martinsville and the rest of the 2003 season. After all, seasons are not made or broken on one race.

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I left Talladega with a very positive feeling about our run, and I know that the guys and Jimmie Johnson gave 100 percent all afternoon long. We might not like where we finished, but we are coming into Martinsville with some momentum from last weekend's race.

After the fall race at Martinsville last season, I'm really looking forward to heading back there this season. In the first race we had some mechanical problems that put us behind early, resulting in our 37th-place finish. By the time the fall race rolled around, I think Team Lowe's had evolved into a better team because we had more experience and we knew that we could compete on any type of racetrack.

As far as I'm concerned, the fall race was probably the most positive race that we ran in the second half of the season. Jimmie really learned how to get around this racetrack about midway through the second race. If we can qualify well and get a good pit selection, we should be able to run up front and contend for a win there.

Martinsville is known for being really hard on the brakes. The top speed at this track is roughly 120 mph down the straightaway, and the drivers will have to slow down to roughly 35 to 40 mph in the corners. It's important for the driver to be consistent and smooth in order to take care of the equipment.

Chad Knaus is the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Hendrick Motorsports. His column will appear weekly on SI.com.