Mike Wheeler (NASCAR)


Michael Wheeler, also known by his nickname 'Wheels', is an American racing executive who currently serves as the competition director for Leavine Family Racing. He also has crew chief experience in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series.

Career

Engineering

Wheeler became the No. 11 team's engineer in 2005 with Jason Leffler. Even when Leffler left JGR, he stayed on the team with new driver Hamlin until the end of 2015.

Xfinity Series

Wheeler was made crew chief of Joe Gibbs Racing'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 and three with Hamlin. Hamlin, Jones and Matt Kenseth all scored five or more top ten finishes.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

His first crew chief experience came in the Cup Series with Hamlin in 2014, when regular crew chief Darian Grubb was suspended six races for car violations. Wheeler guided Hamlin to three top tens and a top five in six races.
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.
After leading Hamlin and the No. 11 team for three years, it was revealed in November 2018 that Wheeler would move to Leavine Family Racing for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series to be crew chief for the organization's No. 95 entry, driven by Matt DiBenedetto. On September 24, 2019, Leavine Family Racing announced that Wheeler will move to the competition director position while Jason Ratcliff becomes the new crew chief of the No. 95, to be driven by Christopher Bell, in 2020.

Personal life

Born on November 4, 1978 in Southold, New York, Wheeler attended Southold High School and later Kettering University to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. He graduated from the college in 2002, and currently resides in Huntersville, North Carolina.