Crew chief Shane Wilson wins NASCAR MOOG ‘Problem Solver of the Race’ award at PIR

Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet battled back from a disappointing qualifying position to finish ninth in Saturday’s Subway Fresh Fit 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. Following the race – which marked the team’s fourth top-10 finish in six Sprint Cup starts – crew chief Shane Wilson was presented the NASCAR MOOG “Problem Solver of the Race” Award.

Sponsored by MOOG chassis parts manufacturer Federal-Mogul Corporation, the Problem Solver award is presented following each Sprint Cup event to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed from the first half to the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet picked up a race-best 0.030-second per lap over the final 164 laps of PIR’s challenging 1-mile flat track.

It didn’t take long for the No. 33 Chevrolet to prove it was much better than its 25th-place qualifying position. Wilson had the Impala’s MOOG chassis components dialed-in from the start, enabling Bowyer to quickly negotiate his way through the field – cracking the top 10 by lap 71 and top five by lap 150. Driving Richard Childress Racing’s chassis No. 265, Bowyer was running as high as third in the second half of the race and was in and out of the top five until the checkered flag.

“The No. 33 team put an excellent car on the track at the start,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. “Then Shane made the right adjustments to the MOOG-equipped chassis as temperatures cooled, which kept Clint within range of a top-three finish for most of the night. Staying ahead of changing track conditions is a great example of the problem solving that takes place behind the scenes during a Sprint Cup race, and Shane Wilson was the best of the best at PIR.”