March 19, 2012
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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By now it's no secret that the Hendrick Motorsports appeal of the penalties accessed the No, 48 team as a result of aerodynamic infractions at Daytona, was denied.
The final step in the appeals process is a hearing before NASCAR's final arbitrator John Middlebrook. The hearing will be tomorrow and if the penalties are not reduced -- or overturned -- will go into effect.
Johnson could be without his crew chief Chad Knaus and his car chief Ron Malec for six weeks. Apparently, for Johnson it has been business as usual.
"We haven’t made any changes at track or the way we go about things. I’m definitely disappointed in what happened last Tuesday," Johnson was quoted as saying in a press conference at Bristol. "I have hope that this next appeal will be heard and we will have a different outcome. There is no telling how it is all going to shake out."
If Knaus is indeed suspended for six weeks, what kind of affect will it have on the No. 48 team? Will Johnson's season be over?
It would not be the first time that Johnson has been without his crew chief. Chad Knaus has been suspended before and Johnson has proven that he can win without him on the pit box.
In 2006, Johnson won the Daytona 500 after Knaus was suspended and went on to win what would be the first of five consecutive championships that season. Knaus was suspended in 2007 and Johnson captured the title that year as well.
Being without his crew chief doesn't seem to bother the five-time champion. He's also not made any plans regarding replacing Knaus should he have to serve the suspension.
"To be honest with you we haven’t worked on the back-up plan. We’ve had a lot of faith with what took place and felt like last Tuesday things would be overturned. We were shocked with the penalties to start in the beginning," Johnson said. "We haven’t made any changes. We do have depth in our organization. We feel like if this next appeal, things don’t change, we are not overly concerned because of the depth we have, but still we know how important this sport is along the lines of chemistry."
Could it be that the team hasn't made any plans because they simply are not concerned about loosing Knaus? His absence certainly hasn't kept Johnson from winning in the past. Still, he knows it will be arduous.
"If things stand it will be a huge blow to the team. I feel like we can work through it and still have a chance to win races, but it would be very difficult. Then you look at the points that are lost. 25 points is a big number. It puts a premium back on winning and then you don’t have your crew chief and car chief so winning is going to be that much more difficult. It’s a double edge sword. It’s not an easy deal to go through that is why we are fighting these appeals like we are.”
Perhaps the points he was docked would be more difficult to overcome than loosing his crew chief. He's mired deep in the point standings but just a few wins will vault him right back into contention for a Chase spot. He finished second at Las Vegas and jumped 14 spots in the standings.
For a driver of his caliber, twenty-five points is not too much to overcome at this point in the season.
Even if the final appeal fails and the penalties are assessed, Johnson's season is far from over. They don’t call him Superman for nothing.
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