Crew Chief Corner: Chad Knaus

Last week was one of those races where it seemed like nothing we did would help the race car. I can't explain why Team Lowe's didn't have a better run at Pocono. I can say that Jimmie fought a loose racecar all afternoon, but I can't explain why.

	Chad Knaus

We continued to make adjustments throughout the race that should have improved the handling of the car and allowed us to contend for a top 10 or top-five finish. I guess that we are fortunate that we gained one place in the overall standings and that the No. 17 didn't gain that many points on us. I personally don't spend a lot of time on looking at the other teams. I spend more time looking at Team Lowe's and trying to find ways to get better. Everyone on this team puts everything they have into it and when we don't finish like we had hoped or felt we should have, it lights a fire in our bellies and makes us work twice as hard to get better. Pocono will be a track that we will be better on next season, I can promise you that.

This week we go to one of the most famous racetracks in the world, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The famed "Brickyard" is a track that all racing fans have wanted to come see an event at and always wanted to race on. Growing up in Illinois, the "Brickyard" was always in the back of my mind.

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IMS is a very tough racetrack to compete on and one that is going to push Team Lowe's this weekend. It is much like Lowe's Motor Speedway, Darlington and Rockingham, where the weather plays such a big role in the way the race car handles. Team Lowe's tested at IMS in July and posted the fastest test speed, but do not let that fool you. That speed was run on a relatively cool day with temperatures that we probably won't see this weekend. Overall, we had a solid test, but we thought the exact same thing last year and we wound up taking a provisional when it came to qualifying for the race.

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I can tell you that three of the four Hendrick teams tested at Indy this year and that we are all working together to find a solid setup for qualifying and for the race. One of the positives of starting 37th last season was that Jimmie was forced to learn how to pass on a tough passing track, so hopefully he can remember a few of those moves for this year's race.

Team Lowe's plans unload off the truck a lot better than it did last season. We spent much of the first practice just trying to find a setup that Jimmie was comfortable with and that could carry some speed around IMS.

If we unload better and can spend more time fine tuning the setup instead of trying to find a setup that works, we should have a solid qualifying run that will leave us with a good starting spot that won't require Jimmie to pass nearly everyone on the track. In addition, a solid qualifying run will give us a good pit box, which is important for Sunday.

While we still have a lot of races left, the field is so tightly matched in points you can't afford to be giving away points with bad races. IMS should be a good track for us, one that we should excel on and return to top 10 form.