January 6, 2020 | By Lee Spencer

Team Penske shuffles crew chief lineup for all three drivers

After Team Penske failed to advance a single driver to the Championship 4 in 2019, Roger Penske announced crew chief changes for all three drivers, breaking up two championship-winning combinations in the process.

Paul Wolfe, who delivered Team Penske’s first NASCAR Cup title in 2012 and first Xfinity championship in 2010 with Brad Keselowski, will now lead Joey Logano’s racing efforts. Keselowski won three of the first 12 races last year but finished eighth in the standings.

Despite guiding Logano to Penske’s second Cup title in 2018, Todd Gordon will now oversee Ryan Blaney’s efforts. The 26-year-old Blaney’s sole win in 2019 came in the fall Talladega race. He finished seventh in Cup points.

Keselowski, 35, will be paired with Jeremy Bullins. Together, Keselowski and Bullins have posted 14 Xfinity Series wins in 46 starts.

“As we do after the completion of each season, we evaluated what we can do to better achieve our goals and we felt it was time to make these changes to better position us to reach our potential,” Penske said. “We are fortunate that we have three very strong leaders in Paul, Todd and Jeremy, who work with experienced and talented crews.

“Pairing each of these winning teams with different drivers and cars should provide new energy and a fresh approach for the 2020 season.”

Although Team Penske’s six victories in 2019 were second only to Joe Gibbs Racing’s single-season record 19, five of those wins came in the first 15 races of the year.

Prior to realignment, Keselowski, Logano and Blaney had worked with their previous crew chiefs since joining the Penske fold. Since 2011, only once has a Penske NASCAR driver failed to qualify for the Playoffs. Logano barely missed advancing to the post-season in 2017 but rebounded with the title the following year.

The new lineups will take effect immediately.