Brian Whitesell (born April 23, 1964) is an American team manager in the NASCAR Cup Series from Stuarts Draft, Virginia. He is the team manager for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team of

Chase Elliott William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NASCA ...

and the No. 24 team of William Byron. He has been part of eight NASCAR Cup Series championship teams (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2006 and 2007).

Early involvement in racing

Whitesell became involved in racing as a senior at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. He had a senior class project involving the design and construction a Mini Baja racecar through the

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...

(SAE).Crew Chief Profile
Hendrick Motorsports, Retrieved September 14, 2007Engineer on the Fast Track: Brian Whitesell keeps Nascar's winningest cars in the running
;

, Su Clauson-Wicker, Retrieved September 14, 2007 After graduation in 1987, he went to work at

Mack Trucks Mack Trucks, Inc., is an American truck manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. Founded in 1900 as the Mack Brothers Company, it manufactured its first truck in 1905 and adopted its present name in 1922. Mack ...

in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

. Whitesell transferred to Mack Trucks' office in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. Whitesell used the office to volunteer for

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...

's underfunded team on weekends as an attempt to get into motorsports in 1992. He drove the team's hauler, spotted, and scored for the team. He was part of Kulwicki's championship team.

Hendrick Motorsports

He joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1993 as a transporter driver, timer/scorer, and chassis technical on rookie

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...

's No. 24 team.Man behind the curtain

Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

, Bob Margolis, August 17, 2005; Retrieved September 14, 2007 He began using his mechanical engineering degree in 1994 as one of the first engineers in NASCAR. He was named the Western Auto Mechanic of the Year in 1997. The team won three championships in five years. In September 1999 Whitesell was named the crew chief for Gordon after Ray Evernham left. The No. 24 team won two of the next seven races. After the season, he was named team manager of the No. 24 team, and the team won the 2001 championship. Hendrick Motorsports added a second team in 2002 in the No. 48 car driven by

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

. Whitesell oversaw the growth the teams. Both teams finished in the Top 5 in points in both 2002 and 2003. The teams finished second and third in 2004. In 2005 Whitesell was named the team manager for the No. 5 car driven by

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...

, the No. 25 car driven by

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured ...

, and the No. 44 car driven part-time by

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed Texas Terry or The Iceman, is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series). A tw ...

. Announced on May 28, 2009, Whitesell filled in as crew chief for one race, the May 31 running of the Autism Speaks 400 at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...

, for

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for '' NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...

In 2015, Whitesell rejoined Gordon's team as a co-spotter for the

Toyota/Save Mart 350 The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007. The r ...

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southe ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitesell, Brian 1964 births Living people NASCAR crew chiefs American mechanical engineers Virginia Tech alumni People from Augusta County, Virginia People from Huntersville, North Carolina Engineers from Virginia

Early involvement in racing

Hendrick Motorsports

Further reading

References

External links