Chad Knaus walked right past a woman carrying a sign that read: "Johnson — The Pretender! Knaus — The Cheater."

Asked if he saw the sign and if it bothered him, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief grinned and replied, "Naw, there are fans who love you and there are fans who hate you. It's just part of the sport."

Knaus, known as one of the most creative and aggressive crew chiefs in NASCAR, has been fined numerous times for infractions.

He was suspended for two races last season when Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet failed inspection following a victory in Las Vegas. But Knaus appealed and the suspension was reduced to probation.

At this year's opener, Knaus was ejected from the track after inspectors found he had made improper modifications to the rear of Johnson's car during Daytona 500 preparations. He missed that race, which Johnson won, and was later suspended for three more races, fined $25,000 and placed on probation for the rest of 2006.

Hence the "cheater" label that some rabid anti-Johnson fans have hung on Knaus.

But none of that seems to affect the performance of Johnson or the team, which has finished no worse than fifth in the standings each year since Knaus was put in charge in 2002 — the driver's rookie year.

Knaus, who turned 35 last weekend, also has been a mentor for Johnson, guiding the 30-year-old driver to his 22 career victories, two runner-up finishes in the points and helped him become the most consistently successful driver in Cup.

The early season suspension of Knaus didn't slow the team a bit, with head engineer Darian Grubb filling in and guiding Johnson to two wins, a second and a sixth. But Grubb gave most of the credit for that to the absent Knaus.

"These are Chad's cars and this is Chad's team," Grubb said. "All I did was move over one spot on the pit box and follow through on what Chad had started."

And things mostly have continued like clockwork since Knaus returned from his enforced sabbatical. After winning last Sunday's race at Indianapolis — his fourth victory of the season — Johnson heads into Sunday's road race at Watkins Glen leading the Nextel Cup series, 107 points ahead of runner-up Matt Kenseth and a contender for his first title.

Knaus acknowledges he has pushed the rules to the limit at times, but he also makes it clear he doesn't believe that is cheating.

"We work in very tiny gray areas," he said in an interview earlier this season. "You try to take advantage of what you can. Sometimes, the rules aren't real specific and you try something that seems to not be covered. Sometimes, NASCAR doesn't buy it."

Last fall, under heavy scrutiny from NASCAR and everyone else and with Johnson losing some momentum heading into the Chase for the championship, there was talk that Knaus, who was signed through 2007, was battling with Johnson and was going to leave Hendrick Motorsports.

"No, nothing was happening," said Knaus, who last Saturday signed a contract extension to stay with the team owned by Rick Hendrick through 2010, mirroring the deals for Johnson and team sponsor Lowe's.

"Absolutely, it was my intention to stay with Hendrick," he said. "There are always rumors and there is always talk out of your control. I love Mr. Hendrick. He is a great friend and mentor of mine. He is the guy I have built quite a relationship with and he has turned me into a great adult and helped me become a great leader.

"I owe that to him to at least give him four more years."

Hendrick is just as loyal to Knaus.

"We're happy with Chad, he plays a big part, not just in the 48 team but our whole organization, and we look for Chad to be with us for a long time," Hendrick said. "He is one of the great young minds in NASCAR and a key member of our organization."