Knaus is constantly asked what he wants out of the future, if he plans to leave his crew-chief role and go for others in the sport. He simply says he doesn't know that he'd like to compete against Hendrick, though he doesn't seem to be intent on staying in a crew chief role forever.

Hendrick says that he's not sure what the long-term future holds for Knaus, though he believes he wants to stay at Hendrick and they are talking about a contract, but that right now Knaus seems happy in his role as crew chief for Johnson. With four consecutive championships to his credit, Knaus has joined Johnson in the record books; he's the only crew chief to ever win four consecutive titles.

While Hendrick says they are working on a contract extension, as of the championship week, that had yet to be settled.

Hendrick seems to marvel at the level of intensity that Knaus brings to his job, the focus he adds to the organization.

"He enjoys the box," Hendrick says. "He enjoys being the field general. He likes working with Jimmie. They are writing the record books. And he's always looking at what is the next rung on the ladder that we have to accomplish to be, you know, one of the best of all time.

"So I think Chad really would be bored doing anything else, and he spends about 20 hours a day, seven days a week planning for the future. He was talking to me by text Sunday night [of the final race], because I was in the hospital. He was already talking about 2010 and some things he wanted to do. Which I thought, 'Man, you ought to go celebrate this one.' But it amazed me how the guys are right back in here Monday morning, digging again, getting ready for next year."

As for Knaus himself, he admits that he still feeds on the competition. That's clear in the fact that he has his four titles - and that he has already started looking at 2010. There's little chance the competition will catch him sleeping at the wheel, which could make it all that more difficult to catch him.

For his part, he plans to take it one step at a time - the way he has the last four seasons.

Slideshow   NASCAR crashes Sparks fly and cars spin out wildly when NASCAR drivers get into accidents. NBCSports.com

"I'm excited about next year," he says. "I think when you get on a wave like this and you get the momentum behind you, you don't want to stop. I think you get excited and you want to continue it on, and it's easy to feed off of that fire once it starts to develop. You know, but the thing is, this sport is so, so difficult. It's a grueling, non-forgiving sport; it really is. If we went out there next week, let's say, if we started racing again next week and we finished 20th, you know what, that's it. You'd better get to work if you want to beat them. There's no concessions. Nobody is going to give you anything in this industry.

"If we go out next year and we run competitive, that's what we want to. If we can get ourselves in position to make the Chase [For The Sprint Cup], that's what we want to do. Once we make the Chase, then we'll worry about trying to win the championship. But to say that our sights are set any further than qualifying for the Daytona 500 next year, they're not. That's our first goal."

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