With Knaus, it's time to stop assuming the worst

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The list reads like some kind of automotive rap sheet.

• June 26, 2007: Fined $100,000, docked 100 points, and suspended six weeks for illegal front-fender modifications made to the new Cup car for a race at Sonoma, Calif. The front fenders fell outside the template, so he thought they were open to modification. He was wrong.

Barely legal

NASCAR issued warnings to the No. 48 and No. 5 teams for being close to failing post-race inspection. The teams say they weren't trying to cheat.

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• Feb. 13, 2006: Ejected from Daytona 500 activities as a result of illegal rear-window modifications found in post-qualifying inspection. The car's qualifying time was disallowed, and eight days later NASCAR announced a $25,000 fine and a suspension that would ultimately cover four races.

• March 15, 2005: Fined $35,000, suspended for two races, and docked 25 points for a roof height that was found to be too low in inspection following an event at Las Vegas.

• May 27, 2003: Fined $2,500 for unapproved use of refrigerant near the fuel system discovered in inspection prior to qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600.

• Sept. 23, 2002: Fined $5,000 for use of inappropriate language in a televised interview following a race at Dover.

• March 21, 2001: Fined $5,000 and suspended for two races for use of shoulder harness belts that inspectors at Atlanta determined to be out of date. His team at the time vociferously denied the allegations, claiming the dated tag had been cut off with the rest of the excess material.

Those are the kind of incidents that spring immediately to mind when many people think of Chad Knaus, the mechanical mastermind behind Jimmie Johnson's three consecutive championships on NASCAR's premier series, and a crew chief that former Hendrick Motorsports driver Brian Vickers joked has accumulated "more fines than anyone in NASCAR history." (Continued)