Wolfe Named Kimberly-Clark Crew Chief Of The Year

Coming off of a 2012 season that featured 5 wins, 13 top-5 and 23 Top-10 finishes and ended with a Sprint Cup Series Championship, Paul Wolfe, crew chief for the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, has been named the Kimberly-Clark Professional Crew Chief of the Year.

 

During the span of the final 10 races, the Wolfe led No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge notched exceptional results including eight top-10 finishes, including a win in the opening Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Chicago and another two-weeks later at Dover. Entering the final race at Homestead the team needed a 15th place finish or better, and right on cue, they finished 15th and achieved a first Sprint Cup Series championship for Penske Racing and legendary team owner Roger Penske. 

"I'm honored to be the 2012 Kimberly-Clark Professional Crew Chief of the Year and want to thank Kimberly-Clark Professional for recognizing the crew chiefs and teams in the garage," said Wolfe, "The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge and Penske Racing team put in a lot of hard work and countless hours in pursuit of this achievement and I'd like to accept this award on behalf of the entire Penske Racing organization." 

In the hunt for the top crew chief honor for 2012, Wolfe topped Chad Knaus, crew chief for the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet and Darian Grubb, crew chief for the No. 11 FedEx Toyota. The trio of crew chiefs each took home Kimberly-Clark Professional Quarterly Crew Chief Spotlight awards and tied in total Kimberly-Clark Professional Crew Chief of the Race awards with five each.

"Paul, the No. 2 team and Brad never panicked when it was 'go time,'" said Jeff Hammond, NASCAR on FOX and Speed analyst and former championship winning crew chief. "Paul had the weight of the world on him but it never showed coming down the stretch. They led laps, won races and secured the best finishes they could in every race this year. Listen, Paul was battling two former winners of the Kimberly-Clark Professional Crew Chief of the Year in Knaus and Grubb, but he delivered."  

Wolfe is being presented a $10,000 check and trophy from Kimberly-Clark Professional for winning the award.  

"Congratulations to crew chief Paul Wolfe for being recognized as the Kimberly-Clark Professional Crew Chief of the Year," said Stephanie Rossignol, Business Leader for Kimberly-Clark Professional. "We are proud to recognize the hard work by Paul and all the crew chiefs each and every week. He and Penske Racing have been a strong supporter of our program and a partner who knows first-hand the value of our exceptional products and people." 

Wolfe joins a list of prominent crew chiefs that have won the Kimberly-Clark Professional Crew Chief of the Year award including two-time winner Chad Knaus, Darian Grubb, Gil Martin, Mike Ford, Tony Eury Sr., Robbie Reiser, and Doug Richert.

Photo: Jerry Markland/Getty Images