NASCAR suspends Knaus three more races, adds fine

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR suspended crew chief Chad Knaus for three more races Tuesday and fined him $25,000 for making an illegal modification to Jimmie Johnson's car during preparation for the Daytona 500.

Knaus was ejected from Daytona following the cheating scandal, and Johnson went on to win the race in a legal car.

Now Johnson must compete in the next three events without his crew chief. Knaus won't be eligible to return to a race track until the March 26 race in Bristol, Tenn.

NASCAR, without comment, also placed Knaus on probation for the rest of the year. It means the crew chief won't be able to push the limits the way he has done for much of the past four seasons.

Knaus seemed unrepentant.

"I think if we ran 25th every week we wouldn't be getting this attention," he said in a conference call.

Knaus also deflected several questions that gave him the opportunity to take responsibility for an alteration NASCAR has characterized as "blatant cheating."

"There's a lot of things out there that can be called intentional," Knaus said. "The fact of the matter is when NASCAR went back it didn't fit the templates. How that happens is pretty irrelevant."

Knaus has been fined numerous times for various infractions, and was suspended two races last season when Johnson's car failed inspection following a victory in Las Vegas. Knaus appealed and the suspension was reduced to probation.

"There's no doubt that Chad has been aggressive and walks a fine line," Johnson said. "He stepped over the line and he's living with the consequences right now."

Knaus' latest infraction came during time trials for the Daytona 500. The Chevrolet passed its initial inspection. But sometime before Johnson went out and posted the fifth-fastest time, the rear window of the car was altered to change its aerodynamics.

The car failed post-race inspection and Knaus was kicked out of Daytona the next day. Johnson's time was thrown out and the team had to rebuild the car to make it fit NASCAR's templates.

The car passed at least three more inspections before Sunday's main event, which Johnson went on to win in the biggest victory of his career. His Chevy also passed an intensive post-race inspection.