A significant milestone is in the making for Paul Wolfe, the reigning three-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief. He currently sits atop the pit box of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse team piloted by the reigning three-time championship-winning driver Joey Logano. By participating in this weekend’s event at Phoenix Raceway, Wolfe will call his 500th career race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Milford, New York, Wolfe, grew up competing in go-karts and graduated from Milford Central School in 1995. A year later, Joe Gibbs Racing employed him. Another four years later, he competed in the Busch North Series division, over his next four seasons. He also competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series division from 2003 to 2005. He drove for teams that included Tommy Baldwin Racing, Evernham Motorsports and FitzBradshaw Racing. During his brief career in the Xfinity circuit, his best result was a 10th-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in June 2005.
Beginning in 2006, Wolfe became a crew chief for FitzBradshaw Racing’s Craftsman Truck Series team. From 2006 to 2009, he worked as a crew chief for FitzBradshaw Racing/Fitz Motorsports, Braun Racing and CJM Racing in the Xfinity Series. He was also a crew chief in the Busch East Series division for 11 races with Ruben Pardo. During that time, Wolfe also worked with drivers that included Carlos Contreras, Mike Skinner, Scott Wimmer, Mike Bliss, Patrick Carpentier, Robby Gordon, David Stremme, Josh Wise, Marc Davis, Jason Leffler, Ryan Newman, Andrew Ranger, Trevor Bayne, Kelly Bires, Mike Bliss, Scott Lagasse Jr., Brian Scott and Denny Hamlin.
In 2010, Wolfe became the crew chief for Brad Keselowski and the No. 22 Dodge team for owner Roger Penske in the Xfinity circuit. The pairing between Wolfe and Keselowski was a success. They achieved six victories, five poles, 26 top-five results and 29 top-10 results throughout the 35-race schedule. Two races before the season’s conclusion, the duo locked up the championship, a first for Team Penske in the sport.
The following season, Wolfe was promoted to the role of Cup Series crew chief for the first time and for Team Penske’s No. 2 Dodge team driven by Keselowski. In Wolfe’s first Cup event as a crew chief, Keselowski finished in 29th place in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway after he was involved in a late incident. Then after finishing no higher than third over their next 12 starts, Wolfe and Keselowski achieved their first victory of the season at Kansas Speedway in June following a late fuel mileage battle. They proceeded to win at Pocono Raceway and at Bristol Motor Speedway, both in August, which allowed them to make their first Playoffs. With a total of four top-five results generated over the 10-week Playoff stretch, the duo concluded the season in fifth place in the final standings.
For the 2012 season, Wolfe and Keselowski emerged as a championship threat to Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team. They achieved five victories, 13 top-five results and 23 top-10 results throughout the season. Following a long battle throughout the postseason stretch, Keselowski entered the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 20-point advantage over Johnson. When Johnson dropped out in the closing laps due to a mechanical issue, Keselowski cruised to a 15th-place result at Homestead and claim his first Cup championship. The title in NASCAR’s premier series was a first for Team Penske and for Wolfe, the latter of whom accomplished the feat in his sophomore Cup campaign.
In 2013, Wolfe and Keselowski started the first 10 scheduled events, achieving seven top-10 results. However, at Texas Motor Speedway in April, Wolfe received a fine of $100,000 and a six-race suspension. This occurred after the Penske cars driven by Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano failed pre-race inspection due to suspension systems issues before the Texas Cup race. Wolfe’s suspension was later reduced to three races, including the non-point All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kevin Buskirk, leader of Penske’s testing program, served as an interim crew chief for Keselowski. Following his two-race suspension,
Wolfe returned atop the No. 2 pit box with Keselowski at Dover Motor Speedway in June. But they did not make the Playoffs and were unable to defend their series title after only generating four top-10 results since Wolfe’s return. Nonetheless, they achieved their first victory of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October before settling in 14th place in the final standings. By then, Wolfe surpassed 100 events as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
Wolfe remained as Keselowski’s crew chief for the 2014 Cup season. During the season, the duo notched a season-high six victories, four poles, 16 top-five results and 19 top-10 results. They finished in fifth place in the final standings. During the season, Wolfe was absent for the second Cup race at Phoenix Raceway in March due to his wife going into labor a day before the main event. Veteran Greg Erwin filled in as Keselowski’s interim crew chief.
Over the next two seasons, Wolfe and Keselowski won five races and tallied four poles, 25 top-five results and 47 top-10 results, with a best result of seventh place in 2015. Following the 2016 season, Wolfe surpassed 200 Cup events as a crew chief. During the 2017 season, he was present for 32 of the 36-race Cup schedule with Keselowski and the No. 2 Penske Ford team.
Wolfe missed three of the first 11 races of the season due to the No. 2 car driven by Keselowski issued with an L1-level post-race penalty after the event at Phoenix in March. He was also absent for the Cup race at Sonoma Raceway in June due to the birth of his second child. During his four-race absence, engineer Brian Wilson served as Keselowski’s interim crew chief. For the other 32 races where Wolfe was present, Keselowski won three races. He also achieved two poles, 12 top-five results and 17 top-10 results. After making the Championship 4 Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, the No. 2 duo finished in fourth place in the final standings.
Between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Wolfe and Keselowski won six races and tallied three poles, 25 top-five results and 39 top-10 results. In both seasons, they finished in eighth place in the final standings. Following the 2019 season, Wolfe surpassed 300 Cup events as a crew chief.
For the 2020 season, Penske shuffled its Cup crew chief lineup. Wolfe was paired with Joey Logano and the No. 22 Ford Mustang team and Keselowski was paired with veteran Jeremy Bullins. It only took two races for the new duo of Wolfe and Logano to achieve their first Cup victory together at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February following a late two-lap shootout that included a strategic pit call to remain on old tires. Two races later, they captured their second victory of the season at Phoenix Raceway in March following another overtime shootout. After utilizing consistency for the remainder of the regular-season stretch and through the Playoff’s first two rounds, they clinched their Championship 4 berth by winning the Round of 8 opener at Kansas Speedway. After finishing in third place during the finale at Phoenix, they settled in third place in the final standings.
The 2021 Cup season featured Wolfe and Logano winning once in the series’ inaugural event at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in March. Despite Wolfe’s suspension for a single event due to a lug nut violation at Darlington Raceway in May, he returned to navigate Logano and the No. 22 Ford team to top-10 results in half of the 26-race regular-season stretch. They were, however, eliminated from title contention after the Round of 8 and finished in eighth place in the final standings.
hen for the following season, the duo of Wolfe and Logano achieved four victories that included trips to Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway in May, the series’ inaugural event at World Wide Technology Raceway, the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas in October and the finale at Phoenix in November. They also won the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. By transferring through all four Playoff rounds, the Phoenix victory enabled Wolfe and Logano to achieve their second respective championships in the Cup Series division. While Logano became the 17th competitor to achieve multiple Cup titles, Wolfe became the first crew chief to repeat as a champion since Joe Gibbs Racing’s Adam Stevens made the previous accomplishment in 2019. By then, Wolfe had also surpassed 400 events as a Cup crew chief.
During the 2023 season, Wolfe and Logano achieved a single victory throughout the entire year at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. They were eliminated from playoff contention following the Round of 16 with finishes of 12th, fifth and 34th, respectively. This prevented them from advancing through the Playoffs by four points.
The duo rallied by notching four victories in 2024 along with the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Despite having their title hopes conclude following the Round of 12, they were added back into it after Playoff contender Alex Bowman was disqualified due to his entry failing to meet the minimum weight requirements during a post-race inspection after the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
Wolfe and Logano utilized a pit strategy to capture a thrilling victory during the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas. The win secured their third trip together to the Championship 4 round at Phoenix. During the finale, they fended off a late challenge from teammate and the reigning champion Ryan Blaney to claim a third Cup title, making Logano the 10th competitor overall to win at least three championships. Wolfe also became the first three-time championship-winning crew chief since Chad Knaus achieved his feat in 2008.
Through 499 appearances as a Cup Series crew chief, Wolfe has achieved three championships, 42 victories, 24 poles, 160 top-five results and 261 top-10 results while working with two different competitors overall (Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano). With 42 victories, Wolfe is the winningest active Cup Series crew chief on the pit box. Currently, he and Logano are ranked in 13th place in the 2025 driver’s standings with finishes no higher than 12th through the first three-scheduled events. With this season in the early stages, Wolfe continues his strive to become the first crew chief to achieve four series championships since Chad Knaus made the last accomplishment in 2009.
Paul Wolfe will call his 500th NASCAR Cup Series event as a crew chief at Phoenix Raceway for the Shriners Children’s 500. The event will occur this Sunday, March 9, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
