Crew Chief Pays the Penalty

The “black cloud” over Jimmie Johnson’s Daytona 500 victory darkened Tuesday when NASCAR suspended his crew chief, Chad Knaus, for three additional races -- including Sunday’s Auto Club 500 at California Speedway in Fontana.

Knaus already had been forced to sit out Johnson’s season-opening victory at Daytona International Speedway last Sunday, after NASCAR found he had made illegal changes to Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet during qualifying. He was ejected from the track Feb. 13.

In its latest action, NASCAR suspended Knaus until March 22, meaning he will not be eligible to return to a Nextel Cup event until the race in Bristol, Tenn., March 26.

Knaus, who had been penalized before for rules infractions, also was fined $25,000 and put on probation until Dec. 31.

But NASCAR did not take away any of the 185 Nextel Cup championship points that Johnson earned in winning the Daytona 500, as some had speculated might happen.

Johnson’s team owner, Hendrick Motorsports, said it would not appeal the penalties. And Knaus, 34, said he was sorry that the episode tainted Johnson’s victory.

“I don’t want this to overshadow anything,” Knaus said in a conference call with reporters. “I got in trouble for something that happened in qualifying ... not the 500. Jimmie shouldn’t have to deal with it a damn bit.

“I apologized to him one on one,” Knaus said. “But it’s something we’ve got to deal with as a team and move on.”

After Johnson had qualified fifth for the 500, NASCAR found that the rear window had been altered to change its aerodynamics, and that the car did not comply with the sanctioning body’s regulations.

Asked whether he considered his actions to be cheating, Knaus declined to reply with a flat yes or no.

“We’re going to accept what [NASCAR] saw,” he said, “and that’s really it.”

Before the penalty was announced, Johnson acknowledged that the Knaus episode was a “black cloud” over his Daytona victory.

“That just disappoints me, and I hate to see it,” he said in a separate media call.

“There’s no doubt that Chad has been aggressive and walks a fine line,” said Johnson, 30. “He stepped over the line and he’s living with the consequences right now. We’ll be walking on the right side of the line, that’s for sure.”

Asked if he should apologize to NASCAR fans for the incident, Johnson said, “I just got in the car and drove around the track and got out of it.”

But he added, “If there are fans that want to hear I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I know Chad Knaus is sorry.”

NASCAR also penalized the No. 96 Chevrolet driven by Terry Labonte and its Hall of Fame racing team owned by former NFL quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.

NASCAR found an unapproved carburetor on the car during qualifying for the Daytona 500. It fined crew chief Philippe Lopez $25,000 and deducted 25 of the 112 Nextel Cup points that Labonte earned in the race by finishing 17th.

Joe Gibbs Racing, which is assisting Hall of Fame in its start-up, accepted blame for the illegal carburetor and said it would back them if they choose to appeal.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.