Rick Hendrick, Jimmie Johnson pleased with new contract, working to sign Chad Knaus
Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus (left) talks with driver Jimmie Johnson at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
Related story: Jimmie Johnson, Lowe's sign contract extensions with Hendrick Motorsports
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – It appears that Jimmie Johnson isn’t the only part of his championship-contending team that is expected to remain at Hendrick Motorsports for years to come.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said that the organization is also in the process of signing crew chief Chad Knaus to a multiyear contract extension.
The team announced Friday morning that it had reached a five-year contract extension with Johnson that would keep the defending three-time Cup series champion with Hendrick through 2015. It was also announced that Lowe’s, Johnson’s primary sponsor since his full-time entry into the Cup series in 2002, has signed a three-year primary sponsorship agreement for the No. 48 team for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Johnson and Knaus have also been together since Johnson’s rookie campaign.
“Jimmie and I tried to look at a lifetime deal, and I couldn’t borrow enough money to make it work,” Hendrick said with a laugh Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “And Chad has got a multiyear deal, and Chad and I have talked about retiring together. So we’re in the process of getting that on paper, but I think [that’s] our goal, and everybody’s on the same page [about] keeping this thing together for the foreseeable future.”
Johnson, whose previous contract ran through 2010, is glad to know he’ll be competing at least six more years with the same organization that has brought him so much success.
“[I’m] so fortunate to have my team and job and situation at Hendrick Motorsports,” said Johnson, who needs to finish only 25th or better in Sunday’s Ford 400 to lock up a record fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup title. “Lowe’s has been nothing but amazing to Hendrick Motorsports and to myself, so [I’m] very, very excited about the future. The only car I’ve driven in the Cup series has been a Chevy. It’s been a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and it’s been a Lowe’s Chevrolet, so I’m very, very proud of that stuff and certainly look forward to the future and what the years may bring.”
Lowe’s has been the primary sponsor on Johnson’s car through each of his three Cup championships and all of his 47 career victories.
“They’re really tickled to death, but I can tell you from the very first year and the second year before Jimmie won a championship, we [went] to their national sales meeting, and their guys were just ripping and roaring. It’s been a phenomenal partnership with Lowe’s,” Hendrick said. “They build a lot of their marketing around Jimmie and Chad and the race team. They’ve been some of the best partners we’ve ever had in the sport, very supportive in so many ways.
“They’ve put up a ton of money for our guys in the shop, gift cards, cash. They have just been phenomenal to deal with.”
Asked about the potential difficulty of negotiating a contract with a driver as successful as Johnson, Hendrick make no attempt to downplay the process.
“Any time you’re dealing with a guy that has accomplished what he has in the sport, it’s a huge commitment on both parts because you’re looking at five years and really six years because we’ve got next year and then five beyond,” the eight-time Cup champion car owner said. “And we’ve committed we want to be together, but at the same time he’s got the best record, [so] his deal has got to be there, too. I think we have the kind of relationship we can work on it. Of course, he’s got his people looking at it, our people looking at it. [Hendrick Motorsports] general manager Marshall [Carlson] had a lot to do with working with his attorneys and so forth trying to make it a good deal for everyone.
“It’s a huge, huge, huge deal for both of us, but we feel really good about it. Lowe’s has always been extremely good in their incentives, and they like to win, and Chad and Jimmie have delivered, so I think everybody’s happy in this deal.”
