Shane Wilson (racing)

Shane Wilson
Wilson at Daytona International Speedway in 2023
Personal information
Birth nameShane Theodore Wilson
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1968-11-03) November 3, 1968 (age 56)
South Royalton, Vermont, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportNASCAR

Shane Theodore Wilson (born November 3, 1968) is an American NASCAR crew chief. He most recently worked for Rackley W.A.R. as the crew chief for their No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driven by Ty Dillon and Dawson Sutton. He also previously worked as a crew chief for ThorSport Racing, Team Penske, Richard Childress Racing, JGL Racing, Fury Race Cars, RSS Racing, David Gilliland Racing, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and Bassett Racing.

Racing career

Wilson began his career in Vermont, building race cars before earning a driver's license. In 1988, he won a local touring division championship along with Brian Kenyon.[1] In 1989, Wilson joined Alsup Racing of the American Canadian Tour as a mechanic for Mike Bachelor. Four years later, Wilson joined the NASCAR All-Pro Series and subsequently worked with Hendrick Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series.[1]

In 2000, Wilson joined Orleans Racing as the crew chief and general manager for Brendan Gaughan, and won two K&N Pro Series West titles, while finishing fourth in the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings. In 2004, Wilson and Gaughan joined Penske Racing, with Gaughan driving the No. 77 in the Nextel Cup Series until 2005, in which he was replaced by Travis Kvapil.

2006–2017: Richard Childress Racing

2006–2008

In December 2005, Wilson joined Richard Childress Racing as the crew chief for the No. 21 of Kevin Harvick in the Busch Series. Wilson proceeded to lead Harvick to the Busch Series championship in 2006 by a record margin of 824 points. Wilson worked with Harvick until 2008, in which he joined RCR's development program. In 2009, Wilson became the crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series for Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 team, with Wilson winning his first Sprint Cup race with Bowyer in the 2010 Sylvania 300.[1] However, after the race, Bowyer's car failed a post-race inspection, and Wilson was suspended for the next six races of the season.[2] The following season, Wilson guided Bowyer to RCR's 100th victory in the 2011 Good Sam Club 500.[1]

2009–2011: Clint Bowyer

[3]

2012

Bowyer left RCR for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012, and after the team decided to close down the No. 33 car and go from four full-time Cup cars to three that year, Wilson reunited with Harvick and became the crew chief of his No. 29 Cup Series car. Harvick had requested the removal of his 2011 crew chief, Gil Martin, in favor of Wilson for 2012 after two consecutive third-place finishes in the standings. After he and Harvick struggled for most of the season, Wilson was reassigned and Martin returned as Harvick's crew chief in August after the Bristol Night Race. Wilson would then become the interim crew chief for Paul Menard's No. 27 car after Menard's crew chief, Slugger Labbe, was suspended.[4] For the final three races of the season, Wilson replaced Drew Blickensderfer as Jeff Burton's crew chief on the No. 31 car. As a result, Wilson crew chiefed for all three of RCR's Cup cars at one point or another during the 2012 season.[5]

2013–2017: Brendan Gaughan

2018: JGL Racing and Fury Race Cars

Wilson served as crew chief for Kaz Grala after leaving Richard Childress Racing. Wilson and Grala finished 2018 with 2 top 5's and 5 top 10's.

2019–2021: RSS Racing and DGR

After a very successful year as Ryan Sieg's crew chief in the Xfinity Series in 2019, Wilson left for DGR-Crosley, where he was announced as the crew chief for rookie Tanner Gray's No. 15 team in the Truck Series for 2020.[6] Wilson returned to crew chief Gray and the No. 15 truck for the renamed David Gilliland Racing in 2021, but would be released by the team before the race at Kansas in May.[7] RSS would quickly rehire Wilson just a few days later, and he would return to his previous job as crew chief of Ryan Sieg's No. 39 in the Xfinity Series beginning at Darlington in May.[8] Following the Indianapolis race on August 14, Wilson was suspended for four races after the car lost its left rear tire and caused a caution during the race. RSS Racing decided to release Wilson instead of appealing his penalty.[9] Wilson spent the rest of the 2021 without a crew chiefing job.

2022–present: McAnally-Hilgemann, Bassett Racing, ThorSport Racing, and Rackley WAR

It was announced on January 11, 2022 that Wilson would go back to the Truck Series to be the crew chief for the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing truck driven by Derek Kraus in 2022. Kraus' previous crew chief, Mark Hillman, moved to MHR's new second truck, the No. 91 of Colby Howard.[10] For the race at Nashville, Wilson was suspended due to an improperly installed ballast on the No. 19 truck.[11]

On July 2, 2022, it was announced that Wilson would be replaced by Charles Denike, who was previously the crew chief of the GMS Racing No. 23 truck driven by Grant Enfinger. On June 29, 2022, it was announced that Denike would be replaced at GMS by Jeff Hensley, who started the season as the new crew chief for Matt Crafton and the No. 88 ThorSport Racing truck. After losing his job with McAnally, Wilson would join Bassett Racing as the crew chief of their part-time No. 77 car in the Xfinity Series, driven by brothers Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Dillon Bassett. In August, Wilson left the team for ThorSport Racing to replace Hensley as Matt Crafton's crew chief.[12] He spent 11 races as Crafton's crew chief before departing from the team. On January 9, 2024, it was announced he would be the crew chief for Ty Dillon at Rackley WAR Racing.[13] On November 21, 2024, Rackley W.A.R. announced that Chad Kendrick, who was the team's full-time crew chief in 2023, would return to the team after crew chiefing for 1 year with Jordan Anderson Racing in the Xfinity Series in 2024, leaving Wilson without a job.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Shane Wilson". Richard Childress Racing. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Vermont crew chief Shane Wilson fined, suspended". WCAX-TV. September 22, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  3. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20130703004804/http://www.helpersracing.com/ourcompany/CheeriosRacing/team33/shanewilson.aspx Shane Wilson biography at Cheerios Racing
  4. ^ Pockrass, Bob (August 31, 2012). "Crew chief Shane Wilson relieved to part with Kevin Harvick after struggling with fiery driver". Sporting News. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  5. ^ Bromberg, Nick (October 29, 2012). "Luke Lambert to crew chief for Jeff Burton in 2013". Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo!. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  6. ^ "DGR-Crosley names Shane Wilson as crew chief for Tanner Gray". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "New crew chief for Tanner Gray". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Srigley, Joseph (May 3, 2021). "Shane Wilson Returning to RSS Racing as Crew Chief on No. 39". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Ryan Sieg Racing Parts Ways with Shane Wilson". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "MHR Launches Into 2022 With Major Changes". Bill McAnally Racing. January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  11. ^ "(Twitter post)". Twitter. Bob Pockrass. June 24, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2022. Kraus crew chief Shane Wilson suspended for tonight for improperly mounted ballast
  12. ^ Newby, John (August 8, 2022). "Matt Crafton Lands New Crew Chief for Richmond Raceway". Heavy.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "Shane Wilson named crew chief for Ty Dillon". Jayski's Silly Season Site NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2024
  14. ^ Srigley, Joseph (November 21, 2024). "Chad Kendrick Returning to Rackley WAR as Crew Chief for Dawson Sutton". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved December 14, 2024.