Kevin Harvick’s Longest-Tenured Partner Loses His Spot From the Top After Joey Logano Beat All the Odds at Las Vegas

“We haven’t had the best of seasons so far, but we’re working toward getting better.” Joey Logano emphasized the entire No. 22 Team Penske crew’s invaluable contribution towards securing him a berth in the Championship 4. The fuel mileage strategy worked due to the inputs of everybody—from Logano at the wheel to the gasman, Nick Hensley, who made sure the 22’s tank was full. However, only one man made the call to execute this risky endeavor—crew chief Paul Wolfe.

Having served as a crew chief since 2011, Wolfe has achieved remarkable laurels, including two Cup Series championships with Joey Logano (2018, 2022). Now, he has the bragging rights to yet another milestone—Wolfe just beat Kevin Harvick’s crew chief in his Cup Series record.

Joey Logano’s insider wears the crown now

Rodney Childers had to work hard in his uphill climb to success in NASCAR. He started in 2005 as a crew chief for Scott Riggs, leading him to a runner-up finish in Michigan the same year. After moving to Michael Waltrip Racing, Childers won races with David Reutimann and Brian Vickers. But his talents truly surfaced at Stewart-Haas Racing. He connected with Kevin Harvick immediately after they paired up in 2014 and led him to that season’s championship. The duo achieved 37 race wins together—making Childers the winningest crew chief with a total of 40 Cup Series victories.

But now, Joey Logano’s crew chief has stolen that crown from Kevin Harvick‘s former colleague. Kelly Crandall updated the situation after the South Point 400 race concluded. “Paul Wolfe and Rodney Childers had been tied at 40. Wolfe now stands alone.” Wolfe’s glittering career began with clinching a Kansas victory with Brad Keselowski in 2011. Wolfe went on to win his first Cup Series title with Keselowski in 2012. And, of course, Wolfe led Logano to 33 victories under the Penske banner, including two Cup titles.

Despite his vast contributions to Team Penske and Joey Logano, Paul Wolfe adopts a humble approach. After clinching the 2022 Cup Series championship, he tipped his hat to his entire team, much like Logano’s post-race words in Las Vegas. “We’ve got a great group of guys on our team and supporting us. And we were able to give him what he needed to do his job, and then we got the results we deserved.” He added, “I’m not going to say I’m the smartest guy in the garage. But I like to put a lot of good people around me and make me a good look. We’ve definitely got that on this team and within our company.”

The No. 22 team’s 2024 performance has been exceptional under Paul Wolfe’s leadership. He even earned a unique nickname for his work.

Logano salutes his crew chief

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His life’s work aside, Paul Wolfe has certainly made some jaws drop in 2024. The Nashville race had a record-setting five overtime periods and squeezed out the last iota of Cup teams’ fuel strategies. But then there was Wolfe, who asked Joey Logano to stretch out his 20-gallon fuel tank. He expected it to go 80 laps or so, so even Wolfe was surprised as the 22 Ford refused to stop for the added 31 laps beyond its scheduled distance. Even teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing started taking notes. But contrary to the haphazard situation in Nashville, Wolfe was prepared to clinch his 40th win in Las Vegas.

He called for the final pit stop on lap 195, which allowed Joey Logano to run the final 72 laps on one tank of fuel, holding off pole-sitter Christopher Bell by 0.662 seconds. After the resounding win, Logano gave a nickname to Wolfe for his superb strategy: “When you put that together with Paul Wolfe, an incredible crew chief, we call him Big Ball Paul now, he really makes that happen there. Engineers calculating everything. Then communication, right? To [Coleman Pressley], my spotter, back down to me as a driver, how much can I save, what’s going on around me. Obviously, we don’t want to win by too much, make sure you save enough gas to get to the end. Yeah, able to make it happen. So excited.”

Evidently, Team Penske is powerful right now with Paul Wolfe on its side. Let’s wait and see if Wolfe can clinch his fourth championship this year.