Becomes Finalist for KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Year Honor
Roswell, GA (Nov. 21, 2012) – Following Sunday’s final race of the Sprint Cup Series season, Paul Wolfe, crew chief of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski, has been named the fourth quarter winner of the KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief Spotlight Award.
In the prior eight races entering the Homestead-Miami event, Keselowski garnered a victory, a second-place at Texas and five other top-10 results for an average finish of 5.8. The team needed only a 15th-place result Sunday to claim the Sprint Cup Series title, and on cue, 15th was where they finished.
Brian Pattie, crew chief for the race’s second-place finisher Clint Bowyer, was named the KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Race at Homestead. Pattie made several key calls to enable Bowyer, who was taken out of the Sprint Cup Series title hunt a week earlier in a late-race incident at Phoenix, to rebound with a second-place effort Sunday.
The KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Year Award will be announced next week. Quarterly winners in 2012 are Darian Grubb, crew chief for the No. 11 FedEx Toyota driven by Denny Hamlin (who won the first quarter and third quarter), Chad Knaus, crew chief for the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet driven by Jimmie (second quarter winner), and Wolfe. Just as the series championship has been fierce, so too has the battle for the KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Year Award.
“We have a great group of guys on this team.” said Wolfe, who captured two
KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Race awards during the fourth set of nine races. “It was a total team effort and I am glad to lead them. Make no mistake about it as they were the guys who made it happen. There was a lot of pressure during the final stretch and our guys kept digging. We are thrilled to give Roger Penske his first Sprint Cup Series Championship.”
The weekly race awards were voted on by the expert panel of Penske Racing’s Sprint Cup crew chiefs, Todd Gordon and Paul Wolfe, along with Claire B. Lang of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and FOX/SPEED analyst and former Sprint Cup Series champion crew chief Jeff Hammond.
“The No. 2 team was a consistent frontrunner during the final quarter of races, winning races, leading laps, securing solid finishes, and putting itself in what would be a two-horse race for the title against the 5-time champions – the No. 48 team (driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus),” said Lang. “Paul showed poise and composure, giving his team the self confidence needed to challenge the 48 and to put themselves ahead of the others in the Chase for the Championship.”
“Paul had the weight of the world on him but it never showed coming down the stretch,” added Hammond. “He was trying to accomplish something no other crew chief has ever been able to do – win a championship for Roger Penske and Penske Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. To add to it, they were going against the 48. He was calm and cool in his leadership tactics with the team, he and Brad have an incredible relationship, and their communication with each other is second to none. Congrats on being the fourth quarter winner of the KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief Spotlight Award.”
Wolfe will be presented a large bundle of KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* products and a check for $2,000 as a result of winning the fourth quarter Spotlight Award. Each quarterly winner was awarded the same prize during the 2012 season.
The coveted KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Year award will be announced next week, and the winner will be presented a $10,000 check.
About the KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief Challenge:
Gordon and Wolfe, along with Hammond and Lang, serve as the panel for the
KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief Challenge. Each week the quartet vote to determine The Crew Chief of the Race, based on which crew chief demonstrates the most outstanding strategy and ingenuity during each race. The winner won’t necessarily be the crew chief that goes to victory lane, but the crew chief that makes the biggest difference to their team. The weekly winning crew chief receives a bundle of KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* products. Each Crew Chief of the Week is in contention to be named one of the four KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief Spotlight awards and will be a guest on Lang’s “Dialed In” program on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesdays throughout the season. The crew chief with the most quarterly wins will be honored as the KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $10,000 check and the end of the 2012 season.
About KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL*:
KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces for their employees and patrons. KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL* helps transform workplaces making them safer, healthier, and more productive. Key brands in this segment include KLEENEX®, SCOTT®, WYPALL*, KIMTECH* and JACKSON SAFETY*. KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL*, located in Roswell, Ga., is one of Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s four business segments and can be visited on the web at www.kcprofessional.com.
