Jimmy Fennig (born September 15, 1953 in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

) is a longtime

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

crew chief. He was the crew chief for

Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American auto racing driver. He is best known for competing in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2000–2022, last driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series ch ...

2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series file:KaseyKahneBristolAugust2007 (cropped).jpg, Kasey Kahne, the 2004 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. file:Nascarphx09.jpg, Chevrolet won the Manufacturer's championship with 22 wins. The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of Sprint ...

' championships. Fennig has collected 40 Cup wins as crew chief.

Biography

Fennig raced asphalt and

dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

cars in Wisconsin starting in 1970. He raced as a driver until joining the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1984 for DiGard Motorsports. Fennig moved to the

American Speed Association The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt a ...

(ASA) in 1985 for

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...

. In their two seasons together in ASA, the duo had 9 wins, 13

pole positions In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

, and the 1986 championship. Fennig returned to the Winston Cup Series as the crew chief for

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

Stavola Brothers Racing Stavola Brothers Racing was a NASCAR racing team, owned by Bill and Mickey Stavola, and operating NASCAR Winston Cup team from 1984 through 1998. The team won the 1988 Daytona 500 with Bobby Allison behind the wheel of the No. 12 Miller High Lif ...

in 1987. Earlier, Fennig had owned a car that Allison raced in Wisconsin and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

on Saturday nights. Allison won two races during their two years together, including the 1988

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

. The following season, he was paired with fellow Wisconsin racer Dick Trickle, who won the 1989 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award. Fennig continued to work with then-team owner Bobby Allison until Fennig left the team in October 1996 to join

Roush Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...

to become Martin's crew chief. Martin/Fennig had 4 wins in 1997, 24 Top 10s, and 3 poles to finish third in the points. Martin finished second in 1998 points with seven victories. They remained together for three more wins, until they went winless in the 2001 Cup season.

Jack Roush Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises. Roush Enterprises is the ...

moved Fennig to the No. 97 crew to be the crew chief for young

in 2002, and Ben Leslie became the crew chief for Mark Martin. The swap was a success as Busch won the

Nextel Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

title in 2004. It was the first year of the Chase for the Cup. Busch dedicated his title to Fennig. Fennig was named the

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

crew chief of the year. He continued in that role until 2006. He started out the season as

Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed "Jamie Mac", is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR'' and CW. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 ...

's crew chief, and he became the head of Roush Racing

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

effort. Fennig became the crew chief for David Ragan after Ragan replaced Martin in the #6 car in 2007, and he remained in that role for 2008. For the 2013 season, Fennig replaced Chad Norris as crew chief for

Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards Jr. (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and a current analyst for ''NASCAR on Prime Video''. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No ...

. The pair won in their second race together, at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

. Roush talked about Fennig in 2004: "Jimmy Fennig is an unsung hero at Roush Racing. He doesn't do things that create a personal image away from the driver or away from the sponsor or away from the team. He's the trooper that's back there doing everything that he can everyday." Fennig retired after the 2014 season.

References

External links

Biography
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fennig, Jimmy Living people 1953 births Sportspeople from Milwaukee NASCAR crew chiefs Racing drivers from Milwaukee