Jimmie Johnson is considered by many to be one of the finest NASCAR drivers to ever grace the track. However, his seven championship-winning run arguably wouldn’t have been possible without his legendary crew chief, Chad Knaus. The two are making the headlines again ever since Johnson and Knaus’ names popped up alongside other nominees for the class of 2024 Hall of Fame induction.
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Speaking about the great honor about to be bestowed upon the former Hendrick Motorsports driver and his crew chief, the King of NASCAR, Richard Petty recently shared his thoughts about having no doubt about their induction.
Richard Petty speaks about Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus’ HoF induction
Just like Johnson, Petty also won seven titles during his era of dominance in the NASCAR Cup Series, or the Winston Cup Series as they used to call it back in the day. So upon hearing that the iconic pairing of JJ and Knaus was on the list to make it into the Hall of Fame, he had a few words to chime in.
While speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Petty stated, “I would say they are automatic from a standpoint of both of them winning 7 championships. They provin’ that they get the job done. So for the competition they had and everything, they accomplished a whole lot in their career…”
🔒 “I would say they’re automatic.”
👑 @therichardpetty is ready to welcome fellow 7-time Cup Series champions @JimmieJohnson and @chadknaus into the @NASCARHall. pic.twitter.com/pSKXwpsOg0
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) July 14, 2023
The King added, “It’s not that they don’t deserve it for sure. The deal is it’s their first chance to get in. So I think anybody wouldn’t doubt that they’re not gonna get in.”
Who are the other nominees for the 2024 Hall of Fame induction?
There are two distinct categories for the nominees. One is the modern-era ballot which has 10 nominees and then there is the pioneer ballot with 5 nominees. The pioneer ballot is basically in place to honor the people who started their careers more than 60 years ago.
On August 2, a 61-person committee will narrow down the list and finally decide on the two slots for the Modern-era ballot and one slot for the pioneer ballot. This will no doubt be tough competition for Johnson and Knaus considering the other names in the modern-era ballot.
The other drivers among them are Carl Edwards, Neil Bonnett, Jeff Burton, Ricky Rudd, Harry Gant, Tim Brewer, Harry Hyde, and Larry Phillips. The people in contention in the pioneer ballot include the likes of Donnie Allison, AJ Foyt, Sam Ard, Banjo Matthews, and Ralph Moody.
