How Legendary Hendrick Motorsports Crew Chief had Landon Cassill Pave The Way for a Jimmie Johnson NASCAR Win Once

Jimmie Johnson has been one of the most successful NASCAR drivers in his heyday. The NASCAR living legend has romped to a record-equalling seven Cup Series titles. However, it recently emerged that one of his 83 career Cup Series wins had Landon Cassill to thank.

According to the 32-year-old crew chief, Chad Knaus called him up early in the morning, back in 2010. Knaus told him that he needed to head over to North Wilkesboro Speedway to test a certain package. This particular geometry package would be in use for the upcoming race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Cassill tested the #48 car. When they confirmed the package was legal, it was finally turned over to Jimmie Johnson for the race weekend. Suffice to say, whatever Cassill did at North Wilkesboro paid off. This was because Johnson romped to a dominant victory in New Hampshire.

What are Jimmie Johnson and Landon Cassill up to now?

More than a decade later, Johnson has long since retired from NASCAR and is competing in IndyCar. So far, he has been hugely successful at ovals, with 6th at the Texas Motor Speedway.

READ MORE: With a Glove in One Hand and a Sling in the Other, Jimmie Johnson Proves Once Again Why He’s One of the Few Old-Time Racecar Drivers

However, he has been underwhelming in the road course arena, as he hasn’t broken into the Top 20 at all.

Meanwhile, Cassill has been competing in the Xfinity Series, with occasional Cup Series cameos. In the Cup Series, his best finish is 15th at the Daytona 500. However, he has been a bit more successful in the Xfinity paddock, with two Top 5s and two Top 10s. In fact, he has a career-best finish of 2nd, which came last weekend at Martinsville.

At the moment, he races for Kaulig Racing in the #10 car, replacing Jeb Burton. In terms of the Xfinity Series championship, he sits in 12th place and is angling to get his first career win.