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Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus both are going into the Hall of Fame together in 2024. In light of this, it got us at the Daily Downforce thinking, who are the best driver/crew chief combinations of all-time? Well, we took the time to research and list the top-five.
By the Numbers: 43 Wins; 2 Championships
Breakdown: Who better to pair with a hot-headed driver than a hot-headed crew chief? Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip were a match made in Heaven, as over half of Waltrip’s wins were with Hammond as the crew chief. Waltrip and Hammond stayed together for years afterwards even as Waltrip started his own team in the early 1990s.
By the Numbers: 47 Wins; 3 Championships
Breakdown: Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham burst on to the scene in the 1990s, and, before the NASCAR world knew it, they were winning almost every week. From 1994 until 1999, the two won 47 races, which is an average of 7.8 wins per season. One can only wonder what would happen if Evernham chose to stay with Hendrick instead of moving on to Dodge in 2000.
By the Numbers: 44 Wins, 4 Championships
Breakdown: Dale Earnhardt was a Champion before Kirk Shelmerdine, but Earnhardt was a legend after Shelmerdine. The two won 44 races and four championships together. Soon, Earnhardt was “The Intimidator”, and he became arguably the greatest race car drivers of all-time.
By the Numbers: 81 Wins, 7 Championships
Breakdown: In an era where NASCAR was renowned for parity, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were able to win five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Championships. Not only that, but they were able to combine for 81 race wins together, which only trails Richard Petty and Dale Inman for first all-time. The two were able to stay together and win like very few others could in the history of the sport.
By the Numbers: 188 wins, 6 Championships, and 7 Daytona 500 Wins
Breakdown: For almost every accomplishment of his racing career, Richard Petty’s crew chief was Dale Inman. The two orchestrated NASCAR’s most dominant season with 27 wins in 1967, and the two combined for seven Daytona 500 wins. No one will likely ever top the accomplishments that Petty and Inman have, and this top spot could likely go unchallenged for all-time.
Could any modern pairings compare to some of these pairings up on this list? Time will tell, but it may be difficult given how much parity there is in NASCAR today.
