F Bomb: Jimmie Johnson & Chad Knaus Not the Wholesome Bland Image NASCAR Projects

Five time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and his pit crew chief Chad Knaus are boring. How sad is it the five-time champion is so sterile. So when Fox viewers heard Knaus drop the F-bomb on national television during the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, may fans began asking why the #48 team doesn't project this bad boy image heard on the radio Sunday night as Johnson's car left the race.



How did Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus get this wholesome image anyway? It's kind of like the NBA and Michael Jordan.

After all, who could you always count on getting caught cheating at the track not too long ago? Whether it was pushing the template of the car or altering the aerodynamics of the car, these two are no angels despite their clean-cut Lowe's image.

From the Bleacher Report:

For Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, winning has made their problems worse.

Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus first entered the Sprint Cup Series in February of 2002. Then a few months later, on July 11, Chad was fined $25,000 for improperly installed mounting bolts. Jimmie Johnson was fined 25 championship points and team owner Rick Hendrick was fined 25 owner points.

That would be strike one against Jimmie and Chad with many more to come.

Of course Rick Hendrick is not new to cheating. In 2000, Jeff Gordon lost one hundred championship points and crew chief Robbie Loomis was fined $25,000 for an unapproved intake manifold.

Then in 2001, Robbie Loomis was fined $25,000 again, this time for the car being too low. However, no championship points were taken away that time.

It doesn't end there. The No. 25 crew chief, Tony Furr, was fined $25,000 for the car being too low. Then, add in the No. 5 crew chief, Jim Long, being fined $20,000 for fuel cell modifications.

Like they say in life, it isn't cheating unless you get caught, and they got caught.

You would think that after one penalty it would smarten you up. But, just short while later in September, Chad was fined once again for cursing during a live television interview. That cost him $5,000. For those of you who are keeping track, so far the man is short $30,000 from his pocket.

In the case of the first penaly (the second had nothing to do with the car), Johnson had not won. But, then a new trend started to emerge.

Starting in May of 2003, after winning a million dollars in NASCAR's All-Star race, his crew chief was fined $1,000 for using an unapproved air directional device.

It may have been the first time, but it certainly wasn't the last. Just days after winning the Coca-Cola 600, Chad was fined $2,500 for using an unapproved refrigerant.

Why would a man stop cheating when all he was losing was chump change? The championship points weren't being taken away, and that's all that matters right?

The cheating stopped for a little while and the next time they were in the news was after Johnson's Las Vegas winning car failed to meet the minimum height in post race inspection early into the 2005 season. The team was docked 25 championship points, which knocked Jimmie out of the points lead, and yes, Chad was fined $35,000 and suspended for two races.

Days later, he appealed his suspension and it would be overturned, replaced with 90 days of probation. The fine and points penalty, however, were upheld.

The next time Johnson's winning car would fail inspection would be at Dover in the fall, when Chad "exploited" a loophole in the NASCAR rulebook. NASCAR would change the rule and no points or fines were handed out, but the damage had been done.

It now looked like they couldn't win a race without a little help.

Speedweeks of 2006 didn't help their case. After qualifying for the Daytona 500 on February 12, the car failed post-qualifying inspection. Johnson's time was disallowed and, on February 13, Chad Knaus was ejected from the Daytona 500.

He would later be suspended for four races for raising the rear window on Johnson's car to alter the aerodynamics and help make the car go faster.

NASCAR's champion is more like NASCAR's cheater. Since Johnson started winning championships with ease, it seems NASCAR may not be watching these two quite as closely, which baffles me when the sport seems to be losing fans. Have you seen the stands lately? Lots of empty seats!

Sure the economy may have something to do with it, but I think Jimmie Johnson isn't helping much either.