{"id":20384,"date":"2018-07-14T17:17:43","date_gmt":"2018-07-14T22:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=20384"},"modified":"2018-07-14T17:17:43","modified_gmt":"2018-07-14T22:17:43","slug":"nascar-saturday-kentucky-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/14\/nascar-saturday-kentucky-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Saturday Kentucky Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

SPARTA, Kentucky\u2014The quest for eight continues.<\/p>\n

Crew chief Chad Knaus extended his contract with Hendrick Motorsports through 2020. The length of the agreement matches that of Jimmie Johnson, 42.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s\/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, talks to crew chief Chad Knaus on the grid prior to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 13, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Knaus, 46, partnered with Johnson at the start of the 2002 NASCAR season. Over the last 13 seasons, the pair has amassed seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships, 81 wins and 37 pole positions.<\/p>\n

What has been the key to the No. 48 team\u2019s success?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt probably has a lot to do with Jimmie\u2019s patience,\u201d Knaus said prior to Saturday\u2019s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN,  PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). \u201cHe is a very tolerant individual.  I think that has a lot to do with it, but I think Jimmie and I, we have gotten to the point where we really understand one another. There is not a big question on the effort or the amount of effort that is going in from one side nor the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe deeply care for one another obviously, families, daughters, and I have a son coming, so we have grown a lot together through life and I think that has a lot to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair\u2019s tight-knit relationship has helped them weather the tough times \u2013 including the team\u2019s current 41-race winless streak that dates back to Dover last June. It\u2019s the longest drought for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team since its inception 17 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I\u2019m a very competitive person and if we go three weeks without winning I\u2019m frustrated,\u201d Knaus said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of going out there and competing. I love to compete.  The winless streak right now, yeah although it\u2019s not where we want to be by any stretch of the imagination it is where we are. It\u2019s our reality right now and we\u2019ve got to fight through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY SOLIDIFIED BUBBA\u2019S STATUS WITH RPM<\/b><\/p>\n

Last season Darrell \u201cBubba\u201d Wallace was at a crossroads in his racing career.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Darrell Wallace Jr. (Photo by Josh Hedges\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

His tenure was ending with Roush Fenway Racing. The 12-race Xfinity deal in the No. 6 Ford had run its course. Wallace was one step away from the unemployment line when Richard Petty Motorsports called.<\/p>\n

Aric Almirola was sidelined with a broken leg following a vicious wreck at Kansas Speedway. That left a vacancy in the No. 43 RPM Ford \u2013 and a four-race audition for Wallace. With each start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup car Wallace improved his position.<\/p>\n

But it was his 11th-place result in marginal equipment at Kentucky Speedway that really turned heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter finishing 11th here, just my fourth start in, I felt very confident in what I was able to do,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I left any stone unturned there. I was kind of able to lay down that night and though I was frustrated that I wasn\u2019t racing any more, I knew I had done everything I could with the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Stewart-Haas Racing lured Almirola away last season, the seat opened full-time in the iconic No. 43 Petty car. Given his earlier success, Wallace, 24, was the logical choice.<\/p>\n

He kicked off the season in the Daytona 500 with a career-best second-place finish behind Austin Dillon \u2013 but stole the headlines and the hearts of fans.<\/p>\n

This weekend, Wallace returns to the track where he made his mark with RPM.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe speed that we\u2019re showing today, it goes back to the guys at the shop,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cThey built a brand new car for Kentucky. They hit it right on the spot, first lap on the track. So I\u2019m pretty excited about our opportunity this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

BELL RETURNS TO THE \u201cBIG E\u201d FOR HIS BROADCASTING DEBUT<\/b><\/p>\n

Christopher Bell didn\u2019t have to win the Xfinity Series race at Kentucky Speedway to prove he\u2019s a bona fide racer.<\/p>\n

He keeps a list of his race starts and wins on his phone.  And since Bell, 23, became \u201ca professional race car driver in 2013\u201d that number has reached the 450-mark.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Rheem Toyota, poses in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway on July 13, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI tally every race I\u2019ve ever ran and what position I\u2019ve finished,\u201d Bell said.<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s next challenge will come at his favorite race track \u2013 Eldora Speedway \u2013 where he\u2019ll trade in his helmet for a microphone as part of the FOX Sports broadcast team for the Eldora Dirt Derby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever we race on line on iRacing or streamed races over the internet and you have 10 of your buddies watching, you pretend to broadcast, but this will be the first time I\u2019m actually, legitimately, doing it,\u201d Bell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was super excited months ago when they asked me to do it. But now the date is creeping up on me and my stomach is getting closer and closer to my throat. So I\u2019m getting pretty nervous about it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Kentucky\u2014The quest for eight continues. Crew chief Chad Knaus extended his contract with Hendrick Motorsports through 2020. The length of the agreement matches that of Jimmie Johnson, 42. Knaus, 46, partnered with Johnson at the start of the 2002 NASCAR season. Over the last 13 seasons, the pair has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[282,16,464],"class_list":["post-20384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-kentucky-speedway","tag-nascar","tag-quaker-state-400"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/MIS_MENCS_Knaus_Johnson_081317-e1502674654202.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-5iM","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20384"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20386,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20384\/revisions\/20386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}