William Byron will be without crew chief Chad Knaus for Thursday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Knaus will not travel with the rest of Hendrick Motorsports as wife Brooke is set to give birth
Keith Rodden will serve as the crew chief for Byron and the No. 24 team. Rodden most recently was the crew chief for the No. 5 car driven by Kasey Kahne.
“Originally, this was going to be a stretch of back-to-back off weekends for us and everything was going to go to plan so I could be home for those two weeks,” Knaus said, according to Hendrick Motorsports.
“Unfortunately, we now have two races in one week due to the shift in the schedule from the pandemic. Either way, we still have a great plan in place so that I get to be by (wife) Brooke’s side, and we can welcome our baby girl together.”
Knaus took over as the crew chief for Byron prior to the 2019 season.
“We have a lot of depth to pull from in this situation at Hendrick Motorsports, and I know Keith is more than capable of getting the job done,” Knaus said. “I have all the faith that it will be a solid race for him and the No. 24 team.”
Currently Byron is 12 points to the good for the 16th and final playoff spot in the Cup Series.
“I’m super pumped to get to the track again and help out Chad, William and the No. 24 team,” Rodden said. “Being present for the birth of your child is important, especially in the world we are in now. That’s a moment you don’t want to take for granted. Myself and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports support Chad and his family 100% in whatever they need.”
