It took Mike Wheeler, interim crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the MOOG® Steering and Suspension-equipped No. 11 FedEx Toyota, just three starts to earn his first MOOG “Problem Solver of the Race” Award after the 11 car picked up 14 positions to finish seventh in the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR® Sprint Cup event at Michigan International Speedway.
Sponsored by MOOG Steering and Suspension manufacturer Federal-Mogul Motorparts, a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation, the weekly Problem Solver award is presented to the crew chief whose car posts the greatest second-half improvement in average lap time while finishing on the lead lap. Wheeler, a Joe Gibbs Racing engineer standing in for crew chief Darian Grubb for six races, helped Hamlin and the 11 Toyota improve by a race-best 0.122-second per lap over the final hundred laps at MIS.
“Mike and Denny have every reason to be happy with their performance today,” said Tim Nelson, motorsports director for Federal-Mogul Motorparts. “They’d be the first to admit that the 11 wasn’t the fastest car out there, but they were good in the corners and Mike and the Joe Gibbs Racing crew did an excellent job keeping them in the top 10 for the fifth time in the past six races.”
The 11 team retains its firm grip on a Chase spot, with Hamlin needing only to start the next three races to qualify for the season-ending 10-race playoff. Wheeler, meanwhile, becomes the 16th different crew chief in 23 events to win weekly MOOG Problem Solver honors. His win preserves the two-way tie at the top of the standings for the $100,000 MOOG “Problem Solver of the Year” Award, with crew chiefs Jimmy Fennig (No. 99 Ford, Carl Edwards) and Steve Letarte (No. 88 Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr.) deadlocked at three MOOG wins each.
Sunday’s race was won by new Chase points leader Jeff Gordon and the MOOG-equipped No. 24 Chevrolet. With three wins, eight top fives and 16 top 10s, Gordon holds a three-point advantage over Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Chevrolet heading into Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The 88 team also relies on MOOG Steering and Suspension parts.
MOOG Steering and Suspension is the preferred brand of professional technicians and NASCAR crew chiefs, and MOOG components are recognized as the automotive service industry’s “Problem Solver,” with innovative parts that improve on original designs by providing increased durability, enhanced performance and easier installation. NASCAR Cup champions have driven to victory with MOOG parts for an unprecedented 48 straight years.
For more information regarding the MOOG Problem Solver awards and MOOG products, visit the brand’s technician-focused www.moogproblemsolver.com website or contact your MOOG supplier. Like MOOG on Facebook at www.facebook.com/moogproblemsolver.
Subscribe to Motor Age and receive articles like this every month…absolutely free. Click here
