DOVER, Del. –Paul Wolfe, crew chief on the No. 2 Penske Racing Ford of reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, couldn’t be happier to be back at a race track.
Wolfe returns to action for Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover after missing two points races and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race during a suspension affecting both Penske Racing Cup teams for unapproved rear end housing assemblies at Texas in mid-April.
Though Wolfe dictated many of the competitive decisions for Keselowski from afar, he missed being at the track even more than he thought he would.
“For me personally, it was tough,” Wolfe said Friday at Dover. “It was tougher to deal with than what I thought it would be. I’m a hands-on kind of guy, and for me to be able to watch the car in practice and see how it runs around other cars is important to me, visually, to see that and make decisions on what changes to make.
“Everyone that stepped up and helped out did a great job and did all that we could ask, but, obviously, it’s just not the same.”
During Wolfe’s absence, Keselowski finished 32nd at Darlington and 36th in last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. He dropped five spots to 10th in the standings, the last position that would guarantee a spot in this year’s Chase.
“We’ve lost a lot of points over the last month, and it started a little earlier… before I was gone,” Wolfe said. “We had some engine issues at Richmond and lost points there. At Darlington, we felt like we had a competitive car, but we had issues there with a loose wheel and getting caught up in a wreck.
At Charlotte, Keselowski had a hard time cracking the top 15 and ultimately was KO’d by a crash that started with contact between the cars of Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“It seems like, as a team, we’re going through one of those slumps right now,” Wolfe said. “We aren’t hitting the panic button by any means, and Brad has kept a positive attitude through it all.
“Everyone on this team knows what they’re doing. We’ve won races. We’ve won a championship. This weekend, we’re looking forward to buckling down here and getting back on track.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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