Chad Knaus autographed 8x10 photograph.Born in Illinois, Chad Knaus grew up around the racetracks of the Midwest helping his father race against the likes of Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki, Rusty Wallace and Dick Trickle. By the time he was 14, Knaus served as crew chief during his father's Rockford Speedway championship season. The father-son combination also won the Great Northern Series championship and finished second in the Winston Racing Series. A few years and many victories later, Knaus moved to North Carolina in 1991 to pursue a job in national stock car racing. After working with Stanley Smith's stock car team, Knaus landed a job working on the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team led by crew chief Ray Evernham and raced by driver Jeff Gordon. From 1993 to 1997, Knaus advanced from a general fabricator to manage the entire chassis and body construction program for the No. 24 team. Serving as a tire changer on the original Rainbow Warriors pit crew, Knaus was an integral part of the 1995 and 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship teams. Following the 1997 season, Knaus joined Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as car chief, where he worked with Steve Park, and later Michael Waltrip. During the 1998 season, he moved to Tyler Jet Motorsports, and in 1999, the call came that would lead Knaus to Dodge, Melling Racing and his ultimate career goal. Ray Evernham wanted Knaus to lead the Dodge Development team, an opportunity he quickly seized. During two Dodge test sessions, Knaus worked with Melling Racing driver Stacy Compton. The two worked well together, resulting in Knaus' hire as crew chief for Compton in 2001. [edit] NASCAR Nextel Cup 2001 Season In 2001, Knaus was crew chief for Mark Melling's operation, which was sponsored by Pinkerton Tobacco, with Compton as driver. 2002 Season In 2002, Knaus was offered the position of crew chief for a rookie driver in the Hendrick Motorsports stable, Jimmie Johnson. Knaus lead the rookie team to unprecedented success in 2002, earning three wins, 6 top-fives, 21 top-10s and 4 Bud Pole Awards. Johnson became the first rookie in Winston Cup history to ever lead the point standings (he eventually finished fifth overall). He also finished second in Rookie of the Year honors to Ryan Newman. As a result of these efforts, Knaus took home the inaugural IRWIN "Crew Chief of the Year" award. This comes with a certificate of authenticity from the best in the business PSA/DNA. Certification #G40975 

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		Authenticator: PSA/DNA Item's unique digital ID:G40975 History of item: In person Describe how you came to possess this item: In person.