DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson's crew chief was thrown out of the Daytona 500 on Monday for illegal modifications made to Johnson's car during pole qualifying.
Chad Knaus was accused of raising the rear window on the No. 48 Chevrolet to alter aerodynamics during Johnson's run Sunday. The infraction was discovered in a post-qualifying inspection when the car failed to fit NASCAR templates.
NASCAR said Knaus cannot appeal the ejection.
NASCAR also said the Hendrick Motorsports team could be subject to additional penalties, which would be announced after Sunday's Daytona 500.
Team owner Rick Hendrick said lead engineer Darian Grubb will replace Knaus as crew chief for Sunday's ``Great American Race.''
``It's obviously disappointing to miss the biggest race of the year, but I'm confident in Darian and the rest of my teammates,'' Knaus said in a statement.
Johnson finished fifth in pole qualifying, but he will have to start from the rear of the field during Thursday's 150-mile races that sets the rest of the Daytona 500 lineup.
``We understand NASCAR's position,'' Hendrick said in a statement. ``Our expectations for the team remain high. It's a deep, championship-caliber group and they'll step up this weekend.''
Two-time NASCAR champion Terry Labonte also had his qualifying run disallowed Sunday, but the series said any penalties against that team would not be announced until next week.
NASCAR acted quickly against the 34-year-old Knaus, possibly because he has been penalized repeatedly for rules infractions.
Knaus was suspended two races and fined $35,000 last year because Johnson's race-winning car failed to meet the minimum height requirement during post-race inspection at Las Vegas. The team also was docked 25 championship points.
Knaus successfully appealed the suspension, getting it reduced to 90 days of probation, but the fine and points penalty were upheld.
He also was fined more than $30,000 over the 2002 and 2003 seasons for various violations, including one for cursing on live television.
The latest suspension might be applauded in some NASCAR garages. Several teams complained publicly last year that Knaus was receiving special treatment because his two-race suspension was overturned and he avoided trouble when NASCAR discovered modified shock absorbers on the No. 48 following a race at Dover International Speedway.
``There's a little bit of a double standard,'' driver Kevin Harvick, whose crew chief was suspended twice last season for a total of six races, said last week. ``There's probably a reason why Chad Knaus maybe has been brown-nosing too much. I don't know. Maybe we need to brown-nose a little more.''
Knaus is widely considered the best crew chief in the garage -- a title that can be both satisfying and stigmatizing.
He's driven, demanding, ultra-confident and creative. A Ray Evernham protege, Knaus learned much of what he knows from working under Evernham as an original member of the ``Rainbow Warriors,'' the crew that pushed Jeff Gordon to three of his NASCAR championships.
Evernham's imprint can be found in much of what Knaus does -- to the point where he's often chided and referred to as ``Little Ray'' around the garage.
Evernham also was cited numerous times as a crew chief for violations, including the biggest fine in NASCAR history -- a $60,000 penalty in 1995 for using an unapproved suspension part on Gordon's car.
AP Motorsports Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this report.
I love JJ and Chad but I'm glad he got suspended. Hopefully this will wake Chad up and make him more focused about actually tuning the car instead of cheating this year. Then he might be able to finish strong instead of falling apart like they usually do.
A list of fines and other run-ins with NASCAR in Chad Knaus's tenure as crew chief on the No. 48 Chevrolet:
June 2002: Fined $5,000 for use of inappropriate language in televised interview after a race at Dover.
July 2002: Fined $25,000 and penalized 25 points for offset mounting bolts for the front of the trailing arms at Daytona.
May 2003: Fined $1,000 for unapproved air directional device found in inspections for The Winston all-star race.
May 2003: Fined $2,500 for unapproved use of refrigerant near the fuel system before Coca-Cola 600 qualifying.
March 2005: Fined $35,000, penalized 25 points and suspended for two races when the car was too low in postrace inspection after Johnson's victory at Las Vegas. Upon appeal, the suspension was overturned but the fine and points penalty stood.
September 2005: Car passed inspection after a win at Dover, but NASCAR immediately rewrote rules governing rear shock absorbers to address "innovations" employed in the No. 48.
February 2006: Ejected from Daytona 500 activities after the No. 48 fails post-qualifying inspection in the rear window.
So let's see... as his tenure as crewchief for Johnson's team he has cost Hendrick $68,500... not counting what he'll receive from his latest infraction. Sure that's chump change for Hendrick, but he also cost the team 25 points in 2 different seasons, and he might cost them even more at the start of this season too.
In fairness to the jj fans, which I am not, I have seen just as many of them say that they are fed up with the crap they pull. If they do not strighten up I think his fan base will shrink. On another subject which track will we see someone put the 5 car in the wall! You all know its not a matter if but only when and where.
I am fed up with his cheating ways. He has a great sponsor, he's on one of the super teams, one of the better drivers and he needs to cheat? B.S.!!! Cmon Chad get ur head outta ur arse!
Rumor on Jayski is that Knaus really wants to be fired from Hendrick Motorsports.... if that is true, I think Hendrick should just suspend him and not let him do any work anywhere else for the rest of the season. Kinda like what Roush did to Busch last season. I think it would be a very stupid thing for Chad to ruin what they have at Hendrick Motorsports by not putting forth his full effort.
