Mike Wheeler (NASCAR)

Michael C. Wheeler (born November 4, 1978), also known by his nickname "Wheels", is a former American NASCAR Crew Chief and is the current Director of Competition for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Mike Wheeler
Wheeler at Daytona International Speedway in 2016
Personal information
Birth nameMichael C. Wheeler
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1978-11-04) November 4, 1978
Southold, New York
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportNASCAR Cup Series
Team23. 23XI Racing

Wheeler previously worked for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2005 to 2018 as an engineer and a crew chief in both the Cup and Xfinity Series. He moved over to the JGR-aligned Leavine Family Racing for the next two years, working as a crew chief in 2019 and then as the team's competition director for 2020.

Career

Engineering

Wheeler became the No. 11 team's engineer in 2005 with Jason Leffler.[1] Even when Leffler left JGR, he stayed on the team with new driver Hamlin until the end of 2015.

2014: Interim crew chief

His first crew chief experience came in the Cup Series with Hamlin in 2014, when regular crew chief Darian Grubb was suspended six races for car violations. Wheeler guided Hamlin to three top tens and a top five in six races.[2]

2015: No. 20 JGR Xfinity Series team

Wheeler was made crew chief of Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 Xfinity Series entry before the start of the 2015 season. He did a fair amount of adjusting during the season, as JGR rotated through eight drivers. Wheeler scored nine pole positions, four wins, one with Erik Jones and three with Hamlin. Hamlin, Jones and Matt Kenseth all scored five or more top ten finishes.[3]

2016–2018: No. 11 JGR Cup Series team

Wheeler was named crew chief for Hamlin before the start of the 2016 season after serving as his race engineer for several seasons.[4] According to both parties, Hamlin had promised Wheeler his head crew chief job six or seven years before he finally got the job.[5] In the first race of the season, Wheeler shepherded Hamlin to a win in the 2016 Daytona 500.[6]

2019–2020: Leavine Family Racing

After leading Hamlin and the No. 11 team for three years, it was revealed in November 2018 that Wheeler would move to Leavine Family Racing for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series to be crew chief for the organization's No. 95 entry, driven by Matt DiBenedetto.[7] On September 24, 2019, Leavine Family Racing announced that Wheeler would be promoted to competition director for the team in 2020 while Jason Ratcliff would replace him as the crew chief of the No. 95, now driven by Christopher Bell.[8][9]

2021–present: 23XI Racing

On October 30, 2020, 23XI Racing announced that Wheeler would be the crew chief for their No. 23 with Bubba Wallace in 2021.[10]

In September 2021, 23XI Racing announced that Wheeler would be promoted to Director of Competition.

Personal life

Born on November 4, 1978, in Southold, New York, Wheeler attended Southold High School[11] and later Kettering University to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He graduated from the college in 2002, and currently resides in Huntersville, North Carolina.[12]

References
  1. "Engineering in the fast lane". Kettering University. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  2. "NASCAR America: Is Mike Wheeler ready to call the shots for Denny Hamlin?". NBC Sports. 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  3. "Michael Wheeler Crew Chief Statistics - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  4. "Joe Gibbs Racing to make crew chief changes for 2016". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  5. Turner, Jared. "'Wheels' up: Denny Hamlin expects to be with new Sprint Cup crew chief for long haul". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  6. "Denny Hamlin promised Mike Wheeler the crew chief job for the No. 11 team, and the pairing finally happened this year". accesswdun.com. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  7. "Door Bumper Clear 122 - Grinning Like a Possum". player.fm. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. "Christopher Bell to compete in No. 95 with Leavine Family Racing in 2020". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  9. Page, Scott (September 24, 2019). "Christopher Bell joins Leavine Family Racing for 2020". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  10. "Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin reveal manufacturer, technical alliance for 23XI Racing". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 30, 2020.
  11. Parpan, Grant (September 10, 2015). "Southold native is living his dream as a NASCAR crew chief". The Suffolk Times. Times Review Media Group. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  12. "Meet Crew Chief Mike Wheeler". Toyota Racing Development. Toyota. September 30, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
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