Chad Knaus, left, is negotiating a long-term contract with Hendrick Motorsports. Credit: Autostock

Hendrick wants long-term deal with Knaus

Other Cup owners want Knaus suspension to be stiff

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Run-ins between crew chief Chad Knaus and NASCAR, including his ejection from Sunday's Daytona 500, haven't interrupted plans to renegotiate a long-term deal with Hendrick Motorsports.

Rick Hendrick Credit: Autostock

SAGA AT DAYTONA Chad Knaus was suspended from the Daytona 500 after Jimmie Johnson's car failed post-qualifying inspection.  •   Complete story, click here NASCAR series director John Darby sent a strong message that cheating will not be allowed.  •   Complete story, click here Robert Yates said if Chad Knaus purposely violated a written rule from NASCAR, he should be permanently banned.  •   Complete story, click here FedEx PreviewNBC/TNT's Marty Snider on the controversies heading into Daytona Garage PassWill Chad Knaus be suspended multiple weeks? Knaus suspendedMarty Snider discusses Chad Knaus' penalty with Mark Spoor Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Team owner Rick Hendrick said he hopes to have a new deal with Knaus, who has two years left on his current contract, before the end of the season.

"We want him. He wants us. Lowe's is happy. Life is good,'' Hendrick said. "He's been a big influence in our whole organization. This has been a little bump in the road, but we're putting it behind us and moving on.''

NASCAR ejected Knaus from Speedweeks on Monday for illegally rigging a device to create an aerodynamic advantage in the rear window of Jimmie Johnson's car during qualifying.

Officials told NASCAR.COM that Knaus likely will be suspended for one or two more races.

"This hasn't influenced either one of us,'' Hendrick said. "We're right where we were. This has been a hiccup, but we haven't lost our focus and we're ready to move on.''

Meanwhile, Nextel Cup owners keep piling criticism on Knaus. Robert Yates said on Friday that Knaus should be kicked out of Nextel Cup if he blatantly broke rules.

On Saturday, it was Chip Ganassi's turn.

"I have a lot of respect for Mr. Hendrick and his organization,'' Ganassi said. "But you know what? They ought to throw cheaters out. If my man gets to the front by being outside the rules, I'm not interested.''

Ganassi is curious to see how hard NASCAR comes down on Knaus.

"Every time I turn around that 48 car gets caught cheating,'' he said. "Whatever it is, it better be pretty severe.''

According to NASCAR, there is no specific rule addressing what Knaus did, although officials said it was a blatant attempt to illegally create a competitive advantage because the window was pushed out more than three-quarters of an inch.

"That's always the excuse they [use],'' Ganassi said. "Well, there were a lot of rules not written in the Ten Commandments, either. But I think everybody sort of understood the gist of them.''

Ganassi seemed particularly bothered that NASCAR allowed Johnson's team to make the car legal instead of impounding it as often is the case.

"We had a car taken away from us at Bristol two years ago,'' he said. "They took our car away for an infraction that was less than that. They took the car, threw out my crew chief. That was our first infraction ever. How many infractions does that 48 car have?''