Terry Renna,Associated Press Darian Grubb mans the pit box at Daytona last month. "It's pretty easy to unload fast when you've got a mind like [Chad Knaus'] back at the fab shop working on it," says Grubb. Click photo for larger image. Related articles History surrounds Cup qualifying in Atlanta Auto racing glance for the weekend

Darian Grubb was happier when he was an anonymous team engineer for NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson.

But he was thrown into the glare of the spotlight during the week leading up to the Daytona 500 when he became interim crew chief for the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team -- replacing the suspended Chad Knaus.

As much as Grubb and the team claim they miss having Knaus -- considered one of the best crew chiefs in the business -- it hasn't been apparent from the results.

Grubb has directed Johnson to a win in Daytona, a second place at California Speedway and, Sunday, a thrilling last-lap victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

A quiet person who has been Knaus' right-hand man as the team's lead engineer, Grubb refuses to take a lot of credit for the early-season success.

"I guess I have to thank NASCAR for this," he said. "Chad's at home seven days a week working on these cars. It's pretty easy to unload fast when you've got a mind like that back at the fab shop working on it.

"Those guys are working unbelievable hours, just trying to keep things going and keep them up front, because they know we can. The cars and preparation are just second to none. It makes my decisions easy. I can look back at past history and use Jimmie's input and then talk to Chad at night and just see if he's agreeing with the changes we've made."

Johnson, leading Matt Kenseth by 52 points in the standings heading to this weekend's race in Atlanta, said he and Grubb are learning more about each other every day.

"Between Darian and I, we look at each other and gauge by each other's intensity and we say, 'All right, let's try this,' where Chad says, 'We need to do this.' It's been good for us to expand and learn.

"... But it's been a challenging road. It hasn't been as easy as it looks, I promise you."

While Grubb insists he isn't interested in becoming a crew chief and will welcome getting back to the quieter life when Knaus rejoins the team after Sunday's race, he does acknowledge the experience has been a positive one.

"Chad's leadership is second to none," Grubb said. "We really miss that. But then it's also given us a chance to expand on our role. We get to grow within our positions and it makes us a tighter team."

Brian Whitesell, team manager for two other Hendrick Motorsports entries -- the No. 5 Chevy of Kyle Busch and the No. 25 of Brian Vickers -- can empathize with Grubb's situation. In 1999, longtime Jeff Gordon crew chief and mentor Ray Evernham left the team late in the season and Whitesell replaced him.

Gordon won in Whitesell's first two races on the pit box but never finished above 10th the rest of the season. Whitesell was then replaced by Robbie Loomis, choosing -- much like Grubb -- to go a different route.

Whitesell said earlier this week that there are similarities and differences in the interim jobs he did and Grubb has taken on.

"I had Jeff Gordon at the time and Darian's got Jimmie Johnson, so you know the driver is not the problem," Whitesell said. "So, at the time, we were going through substantial changes with the team. Back there in '99 we lost some key people and we were in a lot of restructuring. Then Robbie came along for 2000 and I knew it was time for me to do something else.

"To get [the Gordon] team stronger then, we needed to add some people. It wasn't working out excellent when I was doing it. But for Darian, the results are a lot better."

Still, Whitesell said he isn't the least bit surprised that Grubb isn't interested in being a full-time crew chief.

"It's fun to do for a while, but it's a lot more fun for us -- and I kind of put us in the same category -- to dig in and dig through the data and look for some stuff and be one of those guys behind the scenes," Whitesell said.

"It takes so many people to make an effective race team that it's enjoyable being the crew chief or the team engineer.

"There's a lot of roles that are very satisfying on a race team."