Everyone knows about Chad Knaus, the new Hall of Fame hotshot, and his start with Ray Evernham back in ’93. He began as a helper in the body shop for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, famously driven by Jeff Gordon, a 2019 Hall of Famer. Knaus climbed the ladder, moving to fabrication and eventually leading body development.

He even had a stint as a tire changer for Jeff Gordon’s legendary “Rainbow Warriors” pit crew. But the real deal was a bold, out-of-the-blue phone call that landed Knaus his gig at Hendrick Motorsports in the first place. At his Hall of Fame induction, Knaus spilled the beans, sharing the tale and revealing the muse behind his gutsy move to chase what he wanted.

A rare conversation between Chad Knaus and Ray Evernham

Knaus recalled how, back in June 1993, he boldly picked up the phone and cold-called Hendrick Motorsports, asking to speak with his idol, Ray Evernham. To his surprise, he got through. “A few moments later Ray grabbed the phone and his New Jersey accent he said, “Hello, this is Ray.” And I was frozen for what seemed like seconds to me. And I told Ray who I was and how I had grown up and what I wanted to do. And I could tell he was in a hurry, which he always is, and he said, “Well, just so happens that we let a guy go today,” Knaus recounted.

Chad Knaus then detailed his first meeting with Evernham, he said, “Ray asked, he said, “Well, what do you do?” And I told him, I said, “I do everything. I am not a specialist at anything.” And then we went back and forth for many minutes and then he asked me- where do you wanna be in five years? And I thought about it for just a moment, and I was like this could go a couple of different ways. And I said, “Five years Ray? I want your job.”

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That bold reply showed Knaus had the same drive as Evernham. While Knaus found great success working with Jimmie Johnson, bagging five consecutive championships, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. There was a time when Rick Hendrick had to step in to sort things out.’

Why did Rick Hendrick have to step in to smooth things between Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief?

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Back in 2002, Rick Hendrick brought Chad Knaus on board to team up with Johnson. Little did he know, the duo, both headstrong and driven, were close to never hitting it off. As the 2006 season approached, Jimmie Johnson and Knaus were at odds, having missed the championship title in their first four years together. Rumors swirled about them wanting to part ways, but Hendrick wouldn’t have it.

He summoned them to his office for a little sit-down. To their surprise, he plunked down a gallon of milk and cookies on the table. “I said, ‘Guys, it is really a shame that you are so successful and yet you can’t get along, but if you want to act like children then why don’t we sit on the floor and we will have some milk and cookies and have timeout,’”

Hendrick reminisced. “When we walked in, we didn’t make eye contact. We didn’t say hello to each other, which only fed Rick’s point that if you are going to act like kids, I’m going to treat you like kids,” Jimmie Johnson recalled. That broke the ice, and they both started to crack up.

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Knaus laughed as he recalled, “For the record, it wasn’t a gentle set down of the milk and cookies. It was like, we are going to eat some milk and cookies.”