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Joey Logano’s crew chief at #22 Team Penske, Paul Wolfe, enjoyed the moments as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion with his organization last month in the season finale race at Phoenix Raceway.
The partnership between Logano and his crew chief began many years ago, when a young crew chief, who was an emerging talent in front of the pits, was in search of a stable NASCAR gig for himself.
A month after winning the Cup Series championship alongside Logano, his crew chief told the story of that crossroads moment. Both are veterans at the forefront of the NASCAR world.
Wolfe said:
“It’s funny how this works out, what a small world it is. I just saw it as an opportunity to build something, rather than just taking over,” Wolfe said. “I don’t know, the thought of building something from nothing was more exciting to me. And that’s really what was the deciding factor for me to go to work at Penske.”
Joey Logano's crew chief is still finding his way after the season ended last month, earning a reputation for extracting the most performance from equipment that wasn’t quite elite. He joined Team Penske in 2010, which is currently shut down at season’s end and has two solid deals in the works for NASCAR's second-tier series.
After many years, the 45-year-old celebrated with Logano at Champion’s Week in Nashville last Thursday. This was the second Cup title for both, and Wolfe joined the list of crew chiefs to win a series of titles with multiple drivers.
“Learned it as a mechanic, doing it as a fabricator” – Joey Logano’s crew chief
Before working as the full-time crew chief, Paul Wolfe raced part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, making 16 starts in three years with the team owners Tommy Baldwin, Ray Evernham, and FitzBradshaw Racing.
Further in the conversation, Wolfe said:
“There just really wasn’t anything for me. I didn’t have any sponsors or anything like that. So I was like well, I got into the sport, learned it as a mechanic, doing it as a fabricator, I can pretty much do anything, and it was like, ‘Well, I’ve kind of got to make a living here.”
Joey Logano and his crew chief will be seen in action next year in the NASCAR Cup Series in the preseason race Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum.
