Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus were like the Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase of NASCAR. However, during the 2005 season, the duo went through a rough patch that almost ended their partnership before they went on to become the legendary duo. And the entire credit goes to Rick Hendrick, who had the most absurd idea to patch up their relationship.

During his recent appearance on the podcast Stacking Pennies with Corey LaJoie, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion reflected on the incident. He recalled, “Rick intended to have this meeting with us, but Chad and I were just fighting like kids. And so he decided, ‘Well, if you guys are going to act like kids, I’m going to treat you like kids.’

"And we walk into his office, half a gallon of milk, two Mickey Mouse plates, a pile of cookies, and he made us eat cookies and drink milk and hash it out, and like full-blown Mickey Mouse plates.”

“At first, we thought it was funny, and then Rick insists, and we can tell Rick’s p*****, and it’s like, ‘All right, we better eat these cookies.’ He makes us eat a second cookie. He’s just like grinding us," he further added.

The #48 driver and his team were in contention to win the championship during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. However, they failed to capitalize on the opportunity. In 2004, he lost the championship to Kurt Busch despite having eight wins that season. 

This caused a major rift between the two, but Rick Hendrick saved the day with milk and cookies. And the rest is history, as their partnership went on to last for the next 17 years. They eventually parted ways in 2018 after it was announced that Knaus would serve as William Byron’s crew chief.

When Rick Hendrick eventually separated them

The driver and crew chief have had their success and will go down in history as one of the best driver and crew chief pairings in NASCAR history. They’ve had their ups and downs as well. Eventually, there were minor fractures in the relationship that forced Hendrick to separate the duo.

During an interview in 2025, the Legacy Motor Club owner reflected on his time after being separated from Knaus. He said, “When Rick [Hendrick] broke us up, the year or two that followed and competing against each other—it is not the easiest transition to go through." 

According to reports, Hendrick had separated them due to performance issues. Some reports also hinted at a strained relationship between them. But this didn't affect their relationship.

“But having time to go through the Garage 56 program, and just how close our families are, we’ve really been able to continue to grow our friendship and relationship,” Johnson added.

Over their seventeen years of partnership, they claimed 7 championships and 83 wins. They were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024 in their very first year.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason