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Greg Erwin

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Greg Erwin
Personal information
Birth nameGregory A. Erwin
Born(1970-04-19)April 19, 1970(age 54)
Hatboro, Pennsylvania,United States
Alma materClemson University
Years active1995–present
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportNASCAR Cup Series

Gregory A. Erwin(born April 19, 1970) is an Americanstock car racingcrew chief.He has worked as the crew chief forRobby Gordon Motorsports,Roush Fenway Racing,Team Penske,andWood Brothers Racingat theNASCAR Cup Series,and for Penske in theNASCAR Xfinity Series.[1][2]Erwin was also the team manager of Team Penske in the Xfinity Series in 2016.

Early life[edit]

Erwin was born inHatboro, Pennsylvaniaand in high school, his father bought his first oval track race car.[2]Erwin worked on the team during high school and every summer while attendedClemson University.He earned an engineering degree from Clemson in 1992 returning for graduate school in 1993 with a motorsports engineering scholarship. During the program he spent his summers working with race teams such as Tri-Star Motorsports.[3]

NASCAR career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Erwin was offered his first NASCAR job with Diamond Ridge Motorsports in 1995.[2]He worked as an engineer for the team that employed drivers such as Steve Grissom, Jeff Green andElliott Sadler.Erwin left Diamond Ridge at the end of 1995 to work forTeam SABCO Racing.The operation grew quickly in the next few months going from one team to three. Erwin worked as the only engineer for all three cars.Chip Ganassibought into the race team in 2001 hiring additional engineers. Through the end of 2002, Erwin remained at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.[3]

Erwin began working forRichard Childress Racingin 2003 helping with their new seven-post research and development program. Erwin worked directly with the No. 31 team and crew chief Chris Andrews. At the end of 2004, early in 2005, Erwin left Richard Childress Racing forRobby Gordon Motorsports.[3]

Erwin's first crew chief position was for the Robby Gordon Motorsports No. 7 Nextel Cup entry.[2][4]Before Erwin joined in 2005, the team failed to qualify for four races but only missed two the rest of the season under his direction. The team started outside the top 35 in points and had to race their way in to the first few races in 2006. In its second year the team did not miss a race in 2006.[3]

Roush[edit]

Roush Fenway Racing hired Erwin as the crew chief for the No. 16 Nextel Cup car driven by Greg Biffle in May 2007.[1][5]On June 3, Erwin's first race with Biffle was atDover International Speedway.Biffle started in the 10th position and finished sixth, his best finish in seven races. In September, his team went on to win atKansas Speedwayand finish 14th in the Nextel Cup point standings.[3]

Erwin and Biffle recorded two wins, twelve top-five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes, in 2009, their first full season together. The team made the Chase for the second time in Biffle's career finishing the season third in the point standings.[3]

Biffle made the NASCARChase for the Sprint Cupin 2009 and recorded Ford's first win of 2010 atPocono Raceway.[6][7]

Penske[edit]

In 2013, Erwin served as crew chief forSam Hornish Jr.in theNationwide Series.In 2014, he became the competition director forTeam Penskein the Nationwide Series. Erwin served as interim crew chief for Sprint Cup driverBrad Keselowskiat the2014 The Profit on CNBC 500after regular crew chiefPaul Wolfewas witnessing the birth of his child.[8]In 2015, Erwin became the crew chief for Team Penske's No. 22 car in theXfinity Series.[9]Erwin became the team manager for Team Penske's Xfinity Series program in 2016, with Brian Wilson replacing him as crew chief of the No. 22 car.[10]

Wood Brothers[edit]

In 2018, Erwin became the crew chief forWood Brothers RacingdriverPaul Menardin theMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.[11]

In April 2021, Erwin missed theBlue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500atMartinsville Speedwaydue toCOVID-19protocols, and was replaced by Jonathan Hassler. Hassler became WBR's permanent crew chief on June 8, 2021.[12]

Personal life[edit]

Erwin is married to wife Susan and they have three children; Curtis, Kimberly and Colin. The family lives inMooresville, North Carolina.

References[edit]

  1. ^abRon Lemasters (2007-05-29)."Inside the Garage: No. 16 crew chief Greg Erwin – May 29, 2007".Nascar.Com.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  2. ^abcd"Crew chief Greg Erwin answers your questions – Racing – ESPN".Sports.espn.go.com. 2008-08-15.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  3. ^abcdef"Roush Fenway Racing – Greg Erwin, Crew Chief of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion".Roushfenway.com.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  4. ^Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM (2006-06-20)."Shop Talk: Greg Erwin – Jun 20, 2006".Nascar.Com.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  5. ^"Calgary Chronicle".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-11-29.Retrieved2020-01-03.
  6. ^Livingstone, Seth (2010-08-03)."Greg Biffle, Roush Racing and Ford get a much needed victory".Usatoday.Com.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  7. ^"Greg Erwin Named WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Pocono".Speedwaymedia.com. 2010-08-03.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  8. ^Bonkowski, Jerry (2014-03-02)."Updated: Brad Keselowski will be without crew chief Paul Wolfe for Sunday's Sprint Cup race in Phoenix".NBC Sports.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-03-04.Retrieved2014-03-02.
  9. ^"Team Penske Believes Driver, Crew Chief, Sponsor Continuity Will Continue Success".Ford Performance. January 29, 2015.RetrievedDecember 7,2015.
  10. ^"Brian Wilson promoted to No. 22 crew chief in XFINITY Series".NASCAR.com. January 18, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 22,2016.
  11. ^Bonkowski, Jerry (December 27, 2017)."Greg Erwin ready for new challenge as Cup crew chief with Wood Brothers and Paul Menard".NBCSports.RetrievedFebruary 21,2018.
  12. ^Hopkins, Dalton (June 8, 2021)."Wood Brothers Racing Parts Ways With Crew Chief Greg Erwin".Frontstretch.RetrievedJune 8,2021.