pandr
10-21-2011, 04:48 PM
Rookies believe they have a shot
By Jim Utter The Charlotte Observer
Friday, Oct. 21, 2011
Brad Keselowski is the only driver making his first appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup this season.
He is not the only rookie in the Chase, however.
Of the 12 crew chiefs working with drivers in the Chase, Keselowski's crew chief, Paul Wolfe, is also making his first venture into NASCAR's version of the playoffs.
So far, Wolfe and Keselowski have made a good accounting of themselves.
Keselowski is sixth in the series standings, 25 points behind leader Carl Edwards and still in the hunt for his first series championship with five races left in the season.
It's been a remarkable turnaround for Keselowski, who has three wins this year. In his first full season in Cup in 2010, he had just two top-10 finishes.
A large part in the change can be attributed to Wolfe, a former driver who served as Keselowski's crew chief in the Nationwide Series last season as both won that series' championship.
"Brad definitely is a legitimate contender for the championship. The main reason is because he and his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, don't know how much they don't know, and I mean that in the best way possible," said Speed analyst and former championship crew chief Ray Evernham.
"They don't know that they're not supposed to win the first time they get in the championship battle. They don't know the odds are against them. In their minds, they're just running their car.
"They're a good, strong team with fresh ideas and they're not really paying attention to everybody else and they're focusing on their job.
Wolfe believed the relationship he and Keselowski forged in Nationwide last year could lead to further success in the Cup series.
"I felt like it had to be the right situation. I felt like the relationship that Brad and I built over the 2010 season and all the relationships here at Penske and their belief in what I could do; I thought it was a good fit and a great opportunity to move into the role," he said.
"I've always felt like I've worked with teams that maybe hadn't had a lot of success, so it gave me the opportunity to go in there and build something and show what I was capable of doing."
Wolfe, a native of Milford, N.Y., made his NASCAR driving debut in 2000 in what is now called the K&N Pro Series East.
He has made 40 starts in that series, one in the K&N Pro Series West and 16 starts in the Nationwide series (between 2003 and 2005).
In 2006, he began working as a crew chief, working with a variety of drivers, including Scott Lagasse Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Wolfe joined Penske Racing at the end of the 2009 season.
"I started out building them, working on them, understanding what it took to build one of these things. Then when I got the opportunity to drive, I think at that point that helped me in my driving," Wolfe said.
"I worked real hard at that on and off for four or five years and was just never really able to get an opportunity where I could find the success that I needed to stay driving at this level in the sport.
"At that point, it was going back to what I knew and knew I could do well and that was building race cars, working on them and making them go fast."
Even in his first season as a crew chief in Cup, Wolfe believed he and Keselowski would have a shot to gain entry in the Chase.
How about a chance to win it?
"Have I surprised myself and probably some others around the company with what we actually have accomplished, I'd be lying if I said no," he said.
"I probably wasn't looking that far into the future. It was more of what do we have to do today to be better day by day. As we've taken that approach, we've seen the results and are seeing that we have a shot to win the championship."
C/P thats racin
By Jim Utter The Charlotte Observer
Friday, Oct. 21, 2011
Brad Keselowski is the only driver making his first appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup this season.
He is not the only rookie in the Chase, however.
Of the 12 crew chiefs working with drivers in the Chase, Keselowski's crew chief, Paul Wolfe, is also making his first venture into NASCAR's version of the playoffs.
So far, Wolfe and Keselowski have made a good accounting of themselves.
Keselowski is sixth in the series standings, 25 points behind leader Carl Edwards and still in the hunt for his first series championship with five races left in the season.
It's been a remarkable turnaround for Keselowski, who has three wins this year. In his first full season in Cup in 2010, he had just two top-10 finishes.
A large part in the change can be attributed to Wolfe, a former driver who served as Keselowski's crew chief in the Nationwide Series last season as both won that series' championship.
"Brad definitely is a legitimate contender for the championship. The main reason is because he and his crew chief, Paul Wolfe, don't know how much they don't know, and I mean that in the best way possible," said Speed analyst and former championship crew chief Ray Evernham.
"They don't know that they're not supposed to win the first time they get in the championship battle. They don't know the odds are against them. In their minds, they're just running their car.
"They're a good, strong team with fresh ideas and they're not really paying attention to everybody else and they're focusing on their job.
Wolfe believed the relationship he and Keselowski forged in Nationwide last year could lead to further success in the Cup series.
"I felt like it had to be the right situation. I felt like the relationship that Brad and I built over the 2010 season and all the relationships here at Penske and their belief in what I could do; I thought it was a good fit and a great opportunity to move into the role," he said.
"I've always felt like I've worked with teams that maybe hadn't had a lot of success, so it gave me the opportunity to go in there and build something and show what I was capable of doing."
Wolfe, a native of Milford, N.Y., made his NASCAR driving debut in 2000 in what is now called the K&N Pro Series East.
He has made 40 starts in that series, one in the K&N Pro Series West and 16 starts in the Nationwide series (between 2003 and 2005).
In 2006, he began working as a crew chief, working with a variety of drivers, including Scott Lagasse Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Wolfe joined Penske Racing at the end of the 2009 season.
"I started out building them, working on them, understanding what it took to build one of these things. Then when I got the opportunity to drive, I think at that point that helped me in my driving," Wolfe said.
"I worked real hard at that on and off for four or five years and was just never really able to get an opportunity where I could find the success that I needed to stay driving at this level in the sport.
"At that point, it was going back to what I knew and knew I could do well and that was building race cars, working on them and making them go fast."
Even in his first season as a crew chief in Cup, Wolfe believed he and Keselowski would have a shot to gain entry in the Chase.
How about a chance to win it?
"Have I surprised myself and probably some others around the company with what we actually have accomplished, I'd be lying if I said no," he said.
"I probably wasn't looking that far into the future. It was more of what do we have to do today to be better day by day. As we've taken that approach, we've seen the results and are seeing that we have a shot to win the championship."
C/P thats racin