Knaus hails change in approach

The championship-winning crew chief said that in the past they used to race aggressively every week in pursuit of victory, but since taking their first Nextel Cup title in 2006 they've revised their approach, focusing more on being where they need to for the crucial part of the race to contend for the win.

"We've changed our focus as a team," Knaus said. "We used to be the team that went out there and tried to be the fastest for the whole race and really didn't get the fruits that we wanted to from that kind of effort.

"We would go and really push and try to lead the most laps and be aggressive, be aggressive with pit calls throughout the early portions of the race. And it's tough.

"So end of last year, actually beginning of this year, we've adopted a new mentality to just kind of ride and find a position to be in so at the end of the race that the car, one, is in good shape, and that Jimmie is not worn out for two.

"We just to kind of want to be where we need to be so if something happens at the end, if we're not able to get up there, maybe we can pull something and try to get up there and get a victory."

Knaus said that an example of how they used to race in the past was this year's fall event at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where Johnson was the class of the field all day, dominating until spinning with a few laps remaining, losing a very likely victory.

"From all of those situations over the course of the last five, six years, we've learned that's really not the way to go about it," he added. "So since then we've taken a backseat. We've slowed down. What that does is that allows you to work on your car.

"Typically the guy that stays out front the whole race probably isn't working on his car that much because his pit stops are real fast and he's staying up there. By the end of race, it may not be right."

Knaus and Johnson have won ten races this year and could clinch the championship with an 18th place-finish on Sunday at Homestead. They could also set a new all-time record for the series with an unprecedented fifth consecutive win, although Knaus says the championship is clearly their main focus.

"Obviously the championship is by far and above more important than winning five races in a row," he said. "I can promise you we definitely would love to win five races in a row. Homestead is a great racetrack for us. It's a place I really enjoy going to.

"To close out the season and win the championship with five victories in a row would be phenomenal. We've got our sights set on that.

"Hopefully we can have ourselves in position to do that and have a car capable of doing that. If not, we'll get the best finish that we possibly can and hopefully come out with the championship."

Knaus has been Johnson's crew chief since his Cup debut season in 2002.