The man behind the man generally credited with orchestrating 83 victories and seven championships is so low-key that hardly anyone outside the NASCAR Cup garage knows his name. It’s Ron Malec, and he’s the only other member of the Jimmie Johnson/Chad Knaus juggernaut to have worked on the No. 48 Chevrolet since its rollout in the 2002 Daytona 500. In fact, the Malec-Johnson relationship dates more than 20 years to their days as struggling young racers in Wisconsin. They met while Johnson was driving off-road trucks for Herzog Motorsports and Malec was racing short tracks and building engines. Malec signed on as mechanic when the Herzogs and Johnson went ASA racing in 1998-1999, then tagged along when they went Xfinity Series racing in 2000-2001. In 2002, when Johnson joined Hendrick Motorsports as a Cup Series rookie, Malec was right there beside him. “From the start, I knew Ron was an ‘all-in’ racer,” Johnson says of his 42-year-old car chief. “I knew he was the right guy because he’s hands-on and knows cars and engines inside-out. Without a doubt, I wanted him when I went to Cup. He’s been right there the whole time. Since I’ve been racing full-time on asphalt, he’s been the head wrench on all my cars.” Similarly, Malec quickly recognized Johnson’s talent as they ventured from off-road trucks to paved ovals. “I had raced on asphalt, so I was familiar with it,” Malec says. “But Jimmie didn’t have much asphalt experience. When we began testing, though, he had such good technical input and car-control feedback. He ‘felt’ the car better than anyone I’d ever raced with, especially being so inexperienced on asphalt. After the first few ASA races (in 1998), I could see he had a lot of talent.”
Ron Malec, left, met Jimmie Johnson when the two were struggling racers in Wisconsin.
Beginning with that ’02 Daytona 500 (won the pole; finished 15th), the Johnson-Knaus-Malec triumvirate has been otherworldly. Those 83 Cup victories over 15-plus seasons include four Brickyard 400s, four Coca-Cola 600s, two Daytona 500s, two Southern 500s, 11 victories at Dover, 14 on short tracks and at least one at 20 of the 23 current venues. They won every NASCAR Cup between 2006 and 2010, another in 2013, and tied Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt with No. 7 last year. They’ve won at least once every year since 2002 and have been top-five in final points 12 times. Nobody racing today is within 500 miles of them. “It’s unfathomable what we’ve done,” Malec says with a tone of awe. “Yeah, we were at Hendrick, but we were definitely an underdog startup team (in 2002). For us to win three races that first season and win every year since and contend for the Cup almost every year we’ve been in existence … that’s amazing. Never in a million years did I think it would be like this. Maybe I don’t think about it enough; maybe when I retire or get off the road I can think more about what we’ve done together. “But this team prepares for every race like it’s the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard. We’re here to win, so there aren’t any unimportant races. If you start laying back, you’ll get passed. We’re always trying to get better, always trying new stuff every weekend. We don’t need to raise our game for the playoffs because we try to be at that level every weekend.” Beginning with that ’02 Daytona 500 (won the pole; finished 15th), the Johnson-Knaus-Malec triumvirate has been otherworldly. Those 83 Cup victories over 15-plus seasons include four Brickyard 400s, four Coca-Cola 600s, two Daytona 500s, two Southern 500s, 11 victories at Dover, 14 on short tracks and at least one at 20 of the 23 current venues. They won every NASCAR Cup between 2006 and 2010, another in 2013, and tied Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt with No. 7 last year. They’ve won at least once every year since 2002 and have been top-five in final points 12 times. Nobody racing today is within 500 miles of them. “It’s unfathomable what we’ve done,” Malec says with a tone of awe. “Yeah, we were at Hendrick, but we were definitely an underdog startup team (in 2002). For us to win three races that first season and win every year since and contend for the Cup almost every year we’ve been in existence … that’s amazing. Never in a million years did I think it would be like this. Maybe I don’t think about it enough; maybe when I retire or get off the road I can think more about what we’ve done together. “But this team prepares for every race like it’s the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard. We’re here to win, so there aren’t any unimportant races. If you start laying back, you’ll get passed. We’re always trying to get better, always trying new stuff every weekend. We don’t need to raise our game for the playoffs because we try to be at that level every weekend.”
The 48 car has made it victory lane 83 times with Malec, Knaus and Johnson.
Malec is probably underappreciated by even the most dialed-in fans, but certainly not by Cup insiders. Knaus spoke glowingly when Malec won this year’s Brian Lunniss Lifetime Achievement Award for being NASCAR’s top mechanic. “Ron’s a guy who wants to go out there and work,” said Knaus, who focuses more on computer analysis and engineering and lets Malec massage the car. “He doesn’t pull punches and doesn’t hold grudges. If you’re in a situation where you need to give somebody the ball, he’s the guy you’re giving it to.” Several years ago, on the eve of a Daytona 500, Knaus told a Wisconsin writer about the Johnson-Malec relationship. “That security has been built because Ron is so good at his job,” he said. “A driver loses confidence in the team when he gets in the car and there’s always something wrong. When there’s something loose or there’s a problem or the brakes don’t work right or the throttle isn’t working right or the shocks are loose. But we don’t have any of those problems. That’s why Jimmie is so comfortable with Ron.” Said Johnson: “He has a genuine love of working on things. He loves being hands-on and loves doing (car preparation) himself. He’s so much into details, into stacking one detail on another until it amounts to something. The biggest testament to Ron is that we don’t have things break or fall off our cars. He’s responsible for that and he takes a lot of pride in that.” Appropriately, team owner Rick Hendrick gets the last word. “Jimmie has always had a lot of confidence in Ron,” he said after a recent victory. “When Jimmie came to us he couldn’t say enough about what a great mechanic Ron was. And Ron’s become a leader in the shop, someone Chad leans on because Ron’s so good at what he does. He’s been there since the start and is super-valuable. Ron is sort of the irreplaceable backbone of that 48 team.”
Unemployed after three years as an Army officer and Vietnam vet, Al Pearce shamelessly lied his way onto a small newspaper’s sports staff in Virginia in 1969. He inherited motorsports, a strange and unfamiliar beat which quickly became an obsession.
In 53 years – 48 ongoing with Autoweek – there have been thousands of NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, and APBA assignments on weekend tracks and major venues like Daytona Beach, Indianapolis, LeMans, and Watkins Glen. The job – and accompanying benefits – has taken him to all 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
He’s been fortunate enough to attract interest from several publishers, thus his 13 motorsports-related books. He can change a tire on his Hyundai, but that’s about it.
