“That’s How We Did It” – Hendrick Motorsports VP Chad Knaus Reveals How They Used to Fool NASCAR Back in the Day

Early on, before the strict regulations came in, teams would constantly look to find ways to have an edge over their competitors. They would tweak things in their cars that some wouldn’t consider legal. Recently, former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief, Chad Knaus, controversially revealed how they used to cheat and fool NASCAR back in the day.

During a podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr, Knaus said, “We were so fortunate back then that we would have things stacked up and we’d bring them out, okay we’ll run this for a while until they catch it and when they catch it alright, close that door bring in his new item alright and we’ll run that.”

Right after Mike Davis mentioned, “You had a long-term plan of innovation we’ll call it. I don’t wanna directly call you a cheater or anything.”

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Knaus responded, “That’s how we did it. That’s how we get it to the playoffs and everything would come together, like everything that we tried early in the summer late in the spring, or at this track, we’d bring all that stuff together and we’d hit the playoffs.”

“We were rock n’ roll.”

One of the biggest NASCAR rule infringements from the past

NASCAR has had its fair share of teams and drivers trying to sneak into the gray area without getting caught. However, some were not so lucky. There was one Michael Waltrip who once landed in controversy because his team decided to use a totally different kind of fuel for his cars. A type of fuel usually used in aviation.

Back in 2007, NASCAR caught Waltrip’s team and found them using a type of fuel that had the elements of jet fuel in their cars. They were soon heavily penalized for such a massive infraction.

Moreover, this was a turning point in modern NASCAR history, as before this other teams had also tried to add additives to their fuel, but jet fuel was the first of its kind. Officials then announced stricter guidelines following the incident and enforced them in a way that talent translated to on-track performance rather than mechanical performance.

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This was just one of the major scandals that took place in the sport over the course of its long history. But imagine the idea of strapping in a driver into a car powered by the same thing used by the military. The risks involved could have been significant, plus there was the added possibility of an unfair advantage being gained on the track.