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Hendrick Motorsports senior executive, Chad Knaus, broke the media cycle on Friday night with his comments regarding the heavy penalties received by HMS on Wednesday.
In his various interviews, he denies any wrongdoing and states that he is “disappointed” over the situation from an industry perspective. He also points a finger at the single-source providers as well as NASCAR, stating that they went through a voluntary inspection when they first arrived at the track.
Knaus stated that he could tell there was a lot of attention around the hood louvers but nothing was said during that single inspection. Clearly feeling cheated by the NASCAR officials and their inspection processes, the HMS crew from top executives to drivers such as William Byron are excited for the appeals process, believing that they have a strong case.
You Should Know:
Ever since it was announced that Hendrick Motorsports would be a key part of NASCAR’s Garage 56 entry at Le Mans, many NASCAR teams and fans alike were concerned their involvement would give the juggernaut an unfair advantage when it comes to the NextGen car.
When asked about this, Knaus laughed it off, stating that the setups were far too different as he dismissed the concern.
Bob Pockrass caught up with Knaus during Friday’s rain delay where he answered some questions about the penalties.
When asked about the supposed Garage 56 advantage, Knaus had this to say.
John Verbeck applauds Knaus for being transparent and willing to answer questions for the media.
Shartin Truex Junior, PhD implies that Knaus is a liar, possibly citing all the times he was suspended throughout his career for “cheating”.
Mamba101 doesn’t hold back as they accuse HMS of “cheating like they’ve done for years”. They also call HMS smiling liars.
Scott also points out Knaus’s questionable history with the NASCAR rule book.
Matt was hoping Knaus would return atop the pit box for one final stint.
JBonneville makes the point that everyone “cheats”, or, as Dale Jr. puts it, “innovates”.
Nick Degroot was just one of the NASCAR journalists to report on Chad Knaus’s comments.
Austin Konenski states that Knaus fully admitted to modifying the parts without, in fact, fully admitting it.
Racer reports that Knaus stated the teams were given faulty parts.
Toby Christie reports that William Byron is excited for the appeal process following Chad’s comments.
Knaus pointed a finger at the single-source supplier, fearing that many teams are getting “non-conforming parts”, as reported by Joseph Srigley.
The Daily Downforce will continue to update this story as more breaking news becomes available.
