Michael C. Wheeler (born November 4, 1978), also known by his nickname "Wheels", is a former American

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Crew Chief and is the current Director of Competition for 23XI Racing in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

. Wheeler previously worked for

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...

from 2005 to 2018 as an engineer and a crew chief in both the Cup and

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

. He moved over to the JGR-aligned

Leavine Family Racing Leavine Family Racing (formerly Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing and originally Leavine Fenton Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Owned by Sharon and Bob Leavine, the tea ...

for the next two years, working as a crew chief in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and then as the team's competition director for

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Career

Engineering

Wheeler became the No. 11 team's engineer in 2005 with

Jason Leffler Jason Charles Leffler (September 16, 1975 – June 12, 2013) was an American professional open-wheel and stock car racing driver. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks, competing in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 before moving to primaril ...

. 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 Darian K. Grubb (born October 9, 1975) is a NASCAR mechanic, engineer, and crew chief who is currently employed at Trackhouse Racing Team as the Director of Performance and the crew chief of the team's part-time No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driv ...

was suspended six races for car violations. Wheeler guided Hamlin to three top tens and a top five in six races.

2015: No. 20 JGR Xfinity Series team

Wheeler was made crew chief of

'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 Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That J ...

and three with Hamlin. Hamlin, Jones and

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...

all scored five or more top ten finishes.

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. According to both parties, Hamlin had promised Wheeler his head crew chief job six or seven years before he finally got the job. In the first race of the season, Wheeler shepherded Hamlin to a win in the

2016 Daytona 500 The 2016 Daytona 500, the 58th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on February 21, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the asphalt superspeedway, it was the fir ...

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

for the

2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series (also known as the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for sponsorship reasons) was the 71st season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era Cup series season. The seas ...

to be crew chief for the organization's No. 95 entry, driven by

Matt DiBenedetto Matthew Guido DiBenedetto (born July 27, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado for Rackley WAR. Racing career Early care ...

. On September 24, 2019, Leavine Family Racing announced that Wheeler would be promoted to competition director for the team in

while

Jason Ratcliff Jason M. Ratcliff (born December 8, 1967) is an American NASCAR crew chief, who is employed by Joe Gibbs Racing and is the crew chief for their No. 19 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driven by multiple drivers. He has worked for JGR si ...

would replace him as the crew chief of the No. 95, now driven by Christopher Bell.

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 William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity S ...

in 2021. 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 The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town also contains a ha ...

, Wheeler attended Southold High School and later

Kettering University Kettering University is a private university in Flint, Michigan. It offers Bachelor of Science, bachelor of science and master's degree, master’s degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM (science, technology, engineeri ...

to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He graduated from the college in 2002, and currently resides in

Huntersville, North Carolina Huntersville is a large suburban town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. A part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, the population was 61,376 at the 2020 census, making Huntersville the 15th largest municipality in North Caroli ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Mike 1978 births Living people NASCAR crew chiefs Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York People from Huntersville, North Carolina Kettering University alumni