The first-year partnership of Carl Edwards and crew chief Jimmy Fennig continues to flourish, as Edwards and the No. 99 Geek Squad Ford Fusion picked up their fifth top-10 finish of the year and Fennig received the prestigious MOOG Steering and Suspension “Problem Solver of the Race” Award in Saturday night’s NASCAR Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
The MOOG “Problem Solver” award, presented by global vehicle components manufacturer Federal-Mogul, is presented following each NASCAR Sprint Cup contest to the crew chief whose car posts the greatest improvement in average lap time over the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. Edwards and Fennig’s Roush Fenway Racing-owned Ford, which started 28th, improved by a race-best 0.220-second per lap to finish sixth at Richmond. With the finish, Edwards moved up four positions, to second, in Sprint Cup points.
Fennig was asked by team owner Jack Roush to take charge of the 99 team after Edwards failed to qualify for last year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, just one year following his runner-up finish to Tony Stewart in Sprint Cup points. Edwards had also suffered a 70-race span without a win, but the 33-year-old driver broke that streak in just his second start with Fennig when the MOOG-equipped 99 car took the checkered flag at Phoenix.
“Carl has a lot of confidence now that Jimmy is on his pit box, and for good reason,” said Tim Nelson, director of motorsports for Federal-Mogul. “They already have one win and four top fives in nine starts together and Jimmy keeps showing that he’s among the best when it comes to reading a track and finding the right setup to move his car toward the front.”
MOOG, the automotive service industry’s “Problem Solver,” is the preferred brand of professional technicians and NASCAR crew chiefs, said the company. Federal-Mogul’s MOOG steering and suspension product engineers work in partnership with Sprint Cup teams to develop and test innovative designs that help provide race-winning performance and durability. Many of these same technologies are featured in MOOG ball joints, tie rod ends and other components available for today’s passenger vehicles.
For more information regarding MOOG steering and suspension parts, visit the brand’s technician-focused www.moogproblemsolver.com website or contact your MOOG supplier. To identify the right MOOG part for virtually any application, use the convenient, free www.FMe-cat.com electronic catalog.