By Brandon Reid
Assistant Editor

Danica Patrick’s record-setting eighth-place finish at the 55th Daytona 500 Feb. 24 wasn’t the Rockford area’s only connection to the race.

Chad Knaus, Rockford native and crew chief of race-winner Jimmie Johnson, mentioned Rockford during his post-race comments.

“The Daytona 500 is a great thing for us,” Knaus said. “Being able to do this race today pleases me. Not bad for a guy from Rockford Speedway (Illinois)!”

Knaus, a 1989 graduate of Rockford Jefferson High School, got his start working in the pits at age 14 for his father, seven-time Rockford Speedway late-model champion John Knaus.

Chad Knaus and Johnson won a record five-straight Sprint Cup Series championships between 2006 and 2010. Johnson’s Feb. 24 victory at Daytona was the second of his career, but it was Knaus’ first Daytona 500 victory as crew chief.

Johnson won the race in 2006, but Knaus sat out Daytona that year because of a suspension by NASCAR for an unapproved template modification. Darian Grubb served as interim crew chief for the team during Knaus’ absence.

Johnson’s Feb. 24 start at Daytona was the 400th career Cup start of his career and his 61st victory in the series. Johnson, 37, is now just one of 10 drivers to win the Daytona 500 multiple times.

Former Roscoe resident Patrick, the first woman to win the pole position at the Daytona 500, led three times Feb. 24, including five laps under green — becoming the first woman to lead a lap at the race not under a yellow flag caution. Her eighth-place finish is the highest finish ever for a female driver at the race.

Patrick was running in third place at the end of the race, before Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin made a move to the inside on the last lap and led a charge past her.

“I was hoping (Martin) was thinking what I was thinking as we came off of Turn 2 on that last lap,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I felt like we needed to make the move a little earlier than off of (Turn) 4.

“… Once we come off of (Turn) 2, mashed the gas, got a run on Danica, side-drafted her a little bit,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “I don’t know why (those) guys didn’t pull down in front of me … but we got through (turns) 3 and 4 with a pretty good run.”

Patrick said after the race: “At the end of the day, it was a solid day. We stayed basically in the top 10 all day, so it was nice.”

Travis Kvapil, a Janesville, Wis., native and the 1994 American Short Tracker champion at Rockford Speedway, finished the race 25th after starting in the last spot, 43rd.

Cambridge, Wis., native Matt Kenseth finished the race 37th after being involved in an early wreck.

Johnson earned $1.5 million for winning the race, while Patrick’s eighth-place finish earned her $357,464. Kvapil earned $317,038 for finishing 25th.

The series next moves to Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at 2 p.m. (Central), Sunday, March 3.

Daytona 500 results

1. (9) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 200, $1,525,275.

2. (19) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 200, $1,104,814.

3. (14) Mark Martin, Toyota, 200, $817,013.

4. (15) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200, $707,855.

5. (34) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 200, $572,771.

6. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford, 200, $461,664.

7. (40) Regan Smith(i), Chevrolet, 200, $411,822.

8. (1) Danica Patrick #, Chevrolet, 200, $357,464.

9. (38) Michael McDowell, Ford, 200, $366,121.

10. (41) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 200, $338,738.

11. (10) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 200, $373,096.

12. (28) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #, Ford, 200, $373,399.

13. (26) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200, $356,449.

14. (35) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200, $330,739.

15. (23) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 200, $337,647.

16. (42) David Reutimann, Toyota, 200, $324,872.

17. (30) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 200, $322,785.

18. (24) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 200, $340,052.

19. (21) Joey Logano, Ford, 200, $339,097.

20. (2) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 200, $360,799.

21. (16) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 200, $343,279.

22. (29) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 200, $309,564.

23. (31) Scott Speed, Ford, 200, $305,514.

24. (37) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 200, $340,114.

25. (43) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 199, $317,038.

26. (39) Terry Labonte, Ford, 199, $307,838.

27. (33) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 198, $305,539.

28. (11) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 195, $336,234.

29. (17) Casey Mears, Ford, 181, $312,314.

30. (18) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, Accident, 176, $311,013.

31. (8) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 175, $313,563.

32. (20) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 161, $328,933.

33. (36) Carl Edwards, Ford, 159, $334,164.

34. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Engine, 151, $377,610.

35. (22) David Ragan, Ford, Accident, 150, $308,188.

36. (6) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 150, $334,293.

37. (12) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Engine, 149, $544,306.

38. (25) David Gilliland, Ford, Accident, 144, $283,879.

39. (7) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 144, $318,693.

40. (32) Josh Wise(i), Ford, Accident, 137, $276,953.

41. (13) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 118, $320,904.

42. (3) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Accident, 47, $346,418.

43. (27) Joe Nemechek(i), Toyota, Engine, 42, $264,354.

Note: # stands for rookie driver.

Posted Feb. 25, 2013