In garage area, a different kind of championship effort (cont'd)

The process that got them there was somewhat astounding for both its speed, and the relative calm in which it unfolded. It was a frantic scene, to be sure, full of men bumping into each other and saw blades cutting and welding torches throwing sparks. Knaus gave orders to replace the quarterpanels, replace the deck lid, replace the drive train, replace the rear wing. There were times when it got heated, times when work was criticized or four-letter-words were dropped, but those were amazingly rare given the situation. Knaus' voice almost always kept an even tone, despite the chaos erupting around him. He sounded less like a crew chief trying to save a race car, and more like a shop teacher putting his apprentices through a final exam.

"I've gotta tell you, guys," he said at one point, "this right-rear is a disaster."

Initially, they thought it was beyond repair. Knaus' first look at the car's mangled front end revealed a sway bar that had been "slammed shut," in Johnson's words, and mountings that appeared so twisted that any attempt at a fix seemed futile. At one point Knaus told Johnson to get out of the car, that it was finished. They reconsidered and somehow got it rolling again, digging up fresh bolts and rivets and internal components, raiding the crash cart for extra pieces left over from last week's race, rebuilding virtually everything except the engine.

Johnson returned to the track after spending an hour and eight minutes in the garage area, a stint that cost him 112 laps. That he was moving at all was something of an accomplishment. For Knaus, it was a satisfying effort.

"These guys do a really good job," he said, referring to his crew. "I've got confidence in them. Jimmie's got confidence in us. When a situation arises, we just attack it. They did awesome."

For Johnson, though, it was cause for second-guessing and, at least initially, seething. The whole thing started coming out of Turn 2, when David Reutimann made just enough contact with Sam Hornish Jr. to send the No. 77 car wiggling up the track. Johnson was right in his path, and the ensuing contact forced the No. 48 to wobble into the outside wall. For an instant, the three-time champ looked like he might have the car saved. Then it took an abrupt right turn down into traffic, where it hit Hornish again, and then pounded the inside concrete wall.

"I need to watch [the replay]. I don't know what happened," Johnson said. "All I know is I got hit by the 77. I don't know what happened. So I guess I could be a big [jerk] for saying that about him right now. I'm just frustrated. All I know is I got clobbered from the side from the 77." (Continued)