Jimmie Johnson’s victory bolsters team’s confidence during tough season for Hendrick Motorsports

Jimmie Johnson’s victory in Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway didn’t only signal a renaissance for him, but for a Hendrick Motorsports team that has had its share of problems this season.

That includes a company-wide victory drought and the absence of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is out for the season with a concussion and has been replaced by the retired Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman.

Here, in the words of Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and team owner Rick Hendrick, is how Johnson’s No. 48 team worked with – and drew strength from – the organization’s three other teams (Chase Elliott’s No. 24, Earnhardt’s No. 88 and Kasey Kahne’s No. 5) to find its way back to Victory Lane.

Knaus: “We had a lot of meetings. We definitely did. I love meetings (laughs). But no, quite honestly, we did have to have a lot of meetings. There wasn’t any fist pounding per se, but what we did do was try to get together with all the ‘heads of state,’ let’s say. You’ve got the crew chiefs, you’ve got the management group at Hendrick Motorsports, (vehicle technical director) Kenny Francis and so on. What we were trying to do was identify where our weaknesses were, and once we started to hone in on where we thought we needed to get some gains, we started to allocate the resources to where we needed it.”

Johnson: “We’ve always been very good teammates, but the way in which all four drivers and crew chiefs and even the engineers on the teams are working together and helping each other, it’s spectacular. That’s what it takes.”

Knaus: “Obviously we all want to have Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the race car. He’s a fantastic talent. He’s a great contributor to the organization. That being said, honestly having Jeff Gordon in the car has really opened up our eyes to a different side of Jeff that’s helped us. Jeff gives great feedback, as does Alex, and it’s been interesting to hear what they say.

“Kind of like when you hear the same thing over and over and over again but then somebody else tells you the same thing, your ears kind of perk up a little bit ... ”

Johnson (smiling): “Are you saying you don’t listen to what I have to say?”

Knaus: “But it’s really neat, so it’s been good to have Jeff in there, and honestly Alex has done a great job, and quite honestly, Dale has been a huge asset because as we all know, he is a student of the sport. He watches every lap, he pays attention to everything that we have going on, and he gives us feedback from his perspective of watching on television, listening to what the drivers say, listening to the crew chiefs’ feedback, and helps guide us and direct us in what we’ve got going on.”

Hendrick: “We’ve really been working hard through the summer. We (went) to the wind tunnel and everybody was working together. Usually teams kind of come apart when they’re not showing signs of speed, and the guys have never worked this hard together, and it’s been paying off.”

Knaus: “Although we’re a team of four, right now we’re really a team of six, which has been really awesome. We’ve had a great opportunity to take everybody’s suggestions and what they’re feeling in the car and applying those to the race cars, and I think you’ve seen that with the 5 finishing third (at Charlotte), the 24 running as well as what they did. It’s been really, really good.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Jimmie Johnson’s victory bolsters team’s confidence during tough season for Hendrick Motorsports."