Lowe's team not hurting in Knaus absence

Darian Grubb has taken over as crew chief and led the team to two wins.
By MIKE HARRIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Darian Grubb was happier when he was an anonymous team engineer for NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson.
But he was thrown into the glare of the spotlight during the week leading up to the Daytona 500 when he became interim crew chief for the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team -- replacing Chad Knaus, suspended for four races for making an unapproved modification to the car before Daytona qualifying.
As much as Grubb and the team claim they miss having Knaus -- considered one of the best crew chiefs in the business -- it hasn't been apparent from the results.
So far, Grubb has directed Johnson to a win in Daytona, a second place at California Speedway and, last Sunday, a last-lap victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Grubb, a quiet person who has been Knaus' right-hand man as the team's lead engineer, isn't taking a lot of credit for the early season success.
"I guess I have to thank NASCAR for this," he said. "Chad's at home seven days a week working on these cars. It's pretty easy to unload fast when you've got a mind like that back at the fab shop working on it.
"Those guys are working unbelievable hours, just trying to keep things going and keep them up front, because they know we can. The cars and preparation are just second to none. It makes my decisions easy. I can look back at past history and use Jimmie's input and then talk to Chad at night and just see if he's agreeing with the changes we've made."
Learning about each other
Johnson, leading Matt Kenseth by 52 points in the standings heading to this weekend's race in Atlanta, said he and Grubb are learning more about each other every day.
"Between Darian and I, we look at each other and gauge by each other's intensity and we say, 'All right, let's try this,' where Chad says, 'We need to do this.' It's been good for us to expand and learn.
"It's making this race team stronger and me a better race car driver and leader. It's making me more sensitive to what's going on underneath me in the car. So we've been performing well, but it's been a challenging road. It hasn't been as easy as it looks, I promise you."
While Grubb insists he isn't interested in becoming a crew chief and will welcome getting back to the quieter life when Knaus rejoins the team after Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he does acknowledge the experience has been a positive one, so far, for him and the rest of the crew.
Missing leadership
"Chad's leadership is second to none," Grubb said. "We really miss that. But then it's also given us a chance to expand on our role. We get to grow within our positions and it makes us a tighter team.
"So, we really cannot wait [for] Chad to get back to put his leadership back in this team. But everybody understands their role that much better and how much input they can have to the team and how much better we can make these race cars and make Jimmie happy on the race track."
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