Gordon, Johnson try to shake off penalties
Penalized Hendrick drivers try to maintain moment in New Hampshire
 | Jeff Gordon, the four-time series champion, and Jimmie Johnson, the defending Nextel Cup champion, were each docked 100 points because their cars failed initial inspections last week in California. |
Dino Vournas / AP |
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LOUDON, N.H. - The last time crew chief Chad Knaus was suspended by NASCAR, driver Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team responded by winning two of the four races he missed.
Once Knaus returned, the team just kept right on clicking the rest of the season and wound up with Johnson winning the 2006 Nextel Cup title.
Now, Knaus is gone again — this time for six races — and Steve Letarte, crew chief for Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Hendrick entry, also will be sidelined for the same period, both the result of their teams getting caught last week at Sonoma with illegally modified fenders on the Car of Tomorrow.
The penalties handed down by NASCAR included 100-point reductions for both drivers and a $100,000 fine for each crew chief.
It’s the latest example of NASCAR’s zero-tolerance policy regarding its new COT, the vehicle that has been seven years in development and is intended to be safer, produce better competition and be less expensive for teams to build and race.
With Gordon still leading the standings by 171 points and Johnson falling from third to fifth and still solidly in competition for the Chase for the championship, the biggest problem faced by the two elite teams appears to be the possibility of losing momentum.
“Losing Steve and the momentum that we have, the chemistry that we have, is definitely the toughest part of this for us,” Gordon said Friday as the team — now being directed by car chief Jeff Meendering — prepared his Chevrolet for practice and qualifying at New Hampshire International.
“I have kind of gone off of some of Jimmie’s experience from last year where he has experienced some things that have actually helped them when Chad came back and actually made them a more solid team. I am hoping for the same.”
Johnson will work with his longtime car chief and friend Ron Malec as his temporary crew chief for the next six weeks.
He said losing Knaus for a month at the start of last season — after Knaus was flagged for cheating in Daytona 500 qualifying — actually might have been a positive for the entire Hendrick team in the long run.
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“I think, looking back on last season, it forced us to be more prepared leaving the shop, more prepared each morning when we woke up for practice and qualifying,” Johnson said. “For the race, we really had to think things through and couldn’t operate from the hip as freely as before.
“I think that helped us and I think that is more ingrained in our culture at Hendrick to have a plan as we go to each race weekend, each morning, each practice session, each time we are on track. ... We are just prepared for every scenario possible right now as we get into practice, into qualifying and we will continue to do that through the weekend.”
Team owner Rick Hendrick could have appealed the penalties, and Knaus and Letarte would have been able to continue coming to the racetrack until the appeal was heard. But Hendrick, despite reiterating that he believes the penalties are too severe, announced Thursday that the team would not appeal.
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