Drivers and team owners in NASCAR usually get most of the glory, but
there is often someone sitting atop the pit box that has a lot to do with a
team’s success on the track. Two tires,
four tires, stay out are just a small part of the decisions that lay on the shoulders of the Crew Chief. NASCAR really is a team sport and the driver
may be the quarterback but the Crew Chief is the coach. Those crucial decisions often mean the difference between victory or a loss. One word, pressure.
Sunday night’s Coca Cola 600 is one of those races where the
Crew Chief often has a lot to say in who takes the checkered flag at the end of
the day, I mean night. The race starts during the heat of the afternoon and finishes in the cool of the night, The transition
from day to night changes the temperatures of the track drastically, therefore
changing the handling of the cars significantly. The team that’s best prepared for these
changes is normally rewarded with a good finish.
Ray Evernham would be on my list of all-time great Crew
Chiefs when he, with a little help from a guy named Jeff Gordon, stood atop the
sport for six seasons. During those
years the #24 team won 47 races and captured three Sprint Cup
Championships. Let’s take a look at my
top five Crew Chiefs currently in NASCAR.
#5 Cole Pearn – The Canadian born Pearn
first entered the NASCAR scene in 2007 and his rise to the top has been
incredible. He was named Crew Chief for
the #78 Furniture Row Racing Team in 2012, becoming the first and only Canadian
Crew Chief in NASCAR. This one car team
put NASCAR and its fans on its feet many a race day with incredible finishes
and a victory at Pocono in 2015.
#4 Dave Rogers – The Vermont native has a
reputation as one of the more conservative Crew Chiefs in NASCAR today. Conservative or not, we see an awful lot of
Carl Edwards running in the top 5 lately.
In addition to being conservative, Rogers has a calm cool demeanor and
seems always prepared on race days. This team has all the makings of a Chase Champion this season.
#3 Jason Ratcliff – The pride of Sumter
South Carolina, Ratcliff along with Matt Kenseth and the #20 team, always seems
to improve as the race goes on. How many
races have we not seen or heard from the #20 car only to see Kenseth finding
himself atop the leaderboard in the closing laps? Ratcliff has a handle on those cars as good
as anyone. One of NASCAR's best tandems.
#2 Paul Wolfe –
The Otsego County NY native failed racing career in 2005, driving for the new
Ray Evernham Dodge team, led Wolfe into the arms of a young driver by the name
of Brad Keselowski. Wolfe and Keselowski
teamed up and in 2010 captured the Nationwide Series (Now Xfinity Series)
Championship and they’ve been married at the hip ever since. Is there a better fuel mileage team then the
#2 team in NASCAR today? Wolfe has a lot
to do with that.
#1 Chad Knaus –
Is there anyone else in the garage who pushes the envelope nearly as much as
Knaus? Knaus, from Illinois, might just
be the smartest guy in the garage.
Teaming with Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team, they’ve managed 73 wins
and 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships.
They might not be done yet.
Chances are pretty good that one of these men will play a huge part in who wins the Coco Cola 600 Sunday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. Join me on Monday at 8:45 as Frank, Taylor and the gang from
WTBQ’s Morning Show talk about the race and all things NASCAR.
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