Suspension lifted for Johnson and Knaus

The season had barely started when it was shaping up to be a nightmare for Jimmie Johnson. From the first technical checks preceding the Speedweeks at Daytona, the stewards noted an infraction on the No. 48 Chevrolet Impala on a part between the roof and the rear trunk. Two days after the "500", the five-time champion was penalized by 25 points (his count was then -23 upon arriving in Phoenix since he only scored 2 in Florida), Chad Knaus and Ron Malec, respectively crew chief and car manager, receiving a six-race suspension. As for Knaus, he had to pay a fine of $100. The Hendrick team appealed, which was rejected and launched a final appeal, this time heard, yesterday Tuesday March 000, by John Middlebrook, the official of the Nascar in charge of the case. In fact, Johnson has recovered his points and the two technicians will continue to follow the races from the wall, while remaining on probation until May 9. As for Chad Knaus, his fine was not lifted, which tends to prove that it was a judgment of convenience?

To achieve such an outcome, as a last resort, Rick Hendrick, the boss of the eponymous team, and Chad Knaus, argued for six hours, presenting a file of around fifteen pages as well as around twenty photos to Middlebrook , a former General Motors company, of which Hendrick is a distributor. They also claimed that the car, in the configuration it was in at Daytona, was identical to those used in the four restrictor plate races in 2011. Chad Knaus further noted that his car did not have was the only one to have only been visually inspected, but its competitors were authorized to make modifications. Which was not his case. “ I'm happy it's over, of course, he confided as he left the Nascar R&D center. The last 30 days have been difficult for everyone on the team. Everyone, around the No. 48 but also at Hendrick Motorsports, made their effort to prove our innocence. And they proved it. »