Crew chief Chad Knaus confirmed this weekend at Kentucky Speedway that he had signed a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, which should keep the Knaus-Jimmie Johnson pairing intact through at least 2020.
The move syncs up arguably NASCAR’s most prolific pairing through the end of this decade, with Johnson signing a three-year extension of his own last season.
MORE: Knaus inks Hendrick extension
If the two end their careers together — Johnson is 42, Knaus is 46, for context — the pair certainly deserves a spot in the highest of NASCAR’s upper echelon.
But where do they fit in across all of sports history?
Pretty dang high, it turns out, and Johnson might not even be done adding trophies to his case.
The most obvious correlation in recent years is New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who together have combined for five Super Bowl wins in eight appearances together since 2001. They’ve set the bar across the NFL, and organizations just try to emulate the “Patriot Way” — much like the standard HMS set in the mid-2000s.
NASCAR.com’s Jessica Ruffin did a great job analyzing that comparison ahead of this year’s Super Bowl.
In the piece, even Johnson sees the likeness.
“I think there are some parallels there,” Johnson said of the Brady comparison. “ … Being able to deliver when times are tough, those make-or-break moments, the experience, athletes over 40, really serve an athlete well.”
Brady and Belichick are unquestionably ranked on whatever “Best tandems in sports history” lists are floating out there — and the Johnson/Knaus duo has two more titles to its credit, in fewer years. And five of those came in consecutive seasons. And they were ohsoclose to the title a handful of other years.
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So where do the seven titles together rank all-time among major sports? Boston Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach and player Bill Russell combined for a ridiculous nine NBA titles, including eight straight from 1959-66.
Some other gold standard pairings from recent sports history don’t match up to the Hendrick mainstays, though.
Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson combined for six championships with the Chicago Bulls, though Jackson later coached Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant to another five. San Antonio Spurs vaunted coach Gregg Popovich and power forward Tim Duncan? Five for them, too.
Even the New York Yankees — the Hendrick Motorsports of baseball, according to some — saw Hall of Famer Joe Torre lead a future HOF shortstop in Derek Jeter to only four World Series titles during a seemingly-decades long streak of dominance.
And this isn’t to downplay any of these accomplishments — they’re remarkable. It’s to point out just how special Johnson and Knaus’ run has been, and continues to be.
Though the No. 48 team’s performance is down this season, you’ve got to think the two won’t leave any stone unturned as Johnson aims for sole ownership of NASCAR’s most titles.
If an eighth — or even ninth — title were to come in the next few years, Johnson will have pushed himself past NASCAR’s greatest names in the likes of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
And if that happens, Johnson and Knaus will transcend their status among NASCAR’s greatest.
They’ll be cemented among the greatest pairings across all of sports history, period.
