Catching up with ... Knaus Chad

Chad Knaus has been Jimmie Johnson's crew chief since the driver's start in Cup competition.

Chad Knaus, the only crew chief Jimmie Johnson has had since he joined the Nextel Cup circuit, recently signed a contract extension with his Hendrick Motorsports team that carries him through the 2010 season. His contract period is the same of Johnson and sponsor Lowe's. Knaus recently visited with members of the media, including Rick Minter of Cox News Service.

Q:Was it always your intention to stay with Hendrick Motorsports?

A: Absolutely. ... I have had every intention to stay at [Hendrick Motorsports]. I love Mr. Hendrick. He is a great friend and mentor of mine. He is the guy I have built quite a relationship with. He has turned me into a great adult and helped me become a great leader. I owe that to him to at least give him four more years.

Q: How is your relationship with Jimmie Johnson?

A: We have a friendship that goes way beyond what happens at the race track. He's a guy that I can grab by the collar and have a serious talk with, and it goes both ways.

If he's got a problem with something I'm doing, he'll come and pull me aside and we'll talk about it. That's something a lot of these guys don't have. They're intimidated by the crew chief or by the driver, and the communication level isn't as deep as what we have. ... I'd be silly if I wanted to go and get some other driver. Obviously, there are some things about Jimmie that I don't like, and there are things about myself that he doesn't like. But when you've got 80 percent of what you like in one person, why would you change it to find that other 20 percent when you're probably not going to find it.

Q:Will crew chiefs begin to retire earlier than they have been?

A: Oh, I hope so. Being a crew chief is a wonderful job. I love it, and there's nothing else I could do, to be honest with you, because I don't know anything else. But it is painful. You go 36 weeks and you've got 75 guys back at the shop that you try to keep happy, and you've got one guy on vacation and the next guy is sick and the other guy has to take his kid to school. Then you come to the race track and you've got to worry about all the stuff at the track. It's stressful, no doubt about it, but I love it. I hope that when I'm 40 or 41 years old, I can scale back a little bit, but if not, I'll just keep being a crew chief and hopefully be winning championships.

Q: Have you been approached about a career in television?

A: TV is fun. I enjoy it. I can't wait to maybe go a little bit further with it. It's definitely not going to interfere with what I do in racing. Racing is my life. It's what I really, really enjoy. TV is more of an outlet for me, and I do enjoy it. You never know. Maybe five years down the line, if people still want me, maybe I'll do some TV.

Q: How has the job of crew chief changed since 2000, when you first served in that role?

A: Obviously, we're a lot more recognized than we were back then. The pressure is a lot higher. Expectations are a lot higher. If you don't go out there right now and perform, you're going to get sat down.