“He became my third sibling”: When Jimmie Johnson pulled back the curtain on the ‘sauce’ that built his relationship with former crew chief 

The driver-crew chief duo of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus was one of the greatest combinations in NASCAR history. In 17 seasons together, Johnson and Knaus won 81 Cup Series races and a record-tying seven Cup championships.

Back in 2021, one year after retiring from full-time Cup Series competition, Johnson sat down with sports insider Graham Bensinger and was asked why he and Knaus worked so well together. Johnson said:

"Our hunger together was unmatched by anyone else in the sport. Honestly, through the years, we changed the sport in so many ways due to our desire and work ethic." (0:49 onwards)

The former driver of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet went on to say that testing was a key factor in their success. Unlike other teams, Johnson said HMS had the resources to go to the track and test their cars all the time, which gave them an edge over their competition.

"Testing was such a part of our success," Johnson said. "That's going to the racetrack, spending a day or two there to learn the track, update the car, engineer new ideas for the car, and many drivers and teams wanted to do the bare minimum of testing. At Hendrick, we had the resources to test all the time, and Chad and I literally would. It made our communication better, it made our team better. We certainly found and engineered more tricks to the car and made the cars faster. That was our sauce. We would test and practice and try over and over and over, and we both wanted it." (1:04 onwards)

Johnson not only attests he and Knaus' work behind the scenes to their litany of success, but also the relationship they had on and off the track. The California native said he and Knaus quickly realized they had a lot in common and became instant friends. However, as time went on, Johnson said his crew chief felt more like family than a friend.

"He became my third sibling. We truly have that connections like brothers." (1:49 onwards)

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Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were both inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024

After spending 17 seasons together as a driver/crew chief combination, it was only fitting that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame together. The two were enshrined in the HOF Class of 2024 on January 19th of this year.

The official announcement that Johnson and Knaus would be inducted came in August the year prior. The NASCAR Hall of Fame penned an X post that day, which read:

"It’s our honor to introduce the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Inductees Donnie Allison, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus."

Knaus retired from crew chief duties at the end of the 2020 season after spending his final two years with William Byron. He's now the Vice President of Competition at Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson, meanwhile, now co-owns Legacy Motor Club and races part-time for the team in the #84 car.