Before 2004, Jimmy Fennig had accomplished just about everything available to him as a crew chief in stock car racing's premier series - except a championship. In three decades on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, he has worked with some of the sport's most experienced drivers, Bobby Allison, Mark Martin and Dick Trickle, but it was his partnership with a young Kurt Busch that resulted in his first Cup championship.
In only their third season together, the duo led the No.97 Sharpie/IRWIN Ford Taurus team to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in the inaugural "Chase for the Cup."
Fennig's experience dates back to the dirt tracks of Wisconsin in 1970, where he spent many years with the Midwestern Dirt and Asphalt Series before taking his first Winston Cup Series job in 1984 with DiGard Racing.
In 1985, Fennig moved to the American Speed Association series to become crew chief for future Roush Racing-superstar Mark Martin. In their two ASA seasons together, they accumulated nine wins, 13 poles and a championship in 1986.
At the end of 1986, Fennig returned to the Winston Cup Series to work with Bobby Allison and Stavola Brothers Racing. As crew chief with Allison, Fennig won two Sprint Cup races, including a victory in Allison's final Daytona 500 in 1988. The following year Fennig worked with Dick Trickle, resulting in a Rookie of the Year title.
Fennig continued to work with Bobby Allison in Allison's new role as a team owner until October of 1996, when Jack Roush gave Fennig the opportunity to reunite with Mark Martin. In 1997, the chemistry between the two ignited again. Martin recorded four wins, 16 top-fives, 24 top-10s and three poles while finishing third in the championship standings. They followed it up with seven victories together the following season; the most either had won in a single season. They were runner-ups in the final point standings.
Fennig's winning ways continued in 1999 with two victories and one pole, and a third place finish in the point standings. In 2000, the Martin-Fennig duo visited victory lane once and finished eighth in the points, while in 2001, they earned two Bud Pole awards.
For the 2002 season, Fennig's vast knowledge and experience turned out to be just what a young driver with limitless potential needed. Under the veteran's guidance, Busch found victory lane in NASCAR's premier series for the first time at Bristol Motor Speedway in just their sixth race together. They finished the season with four wins (including back-to-back victories in October at Martinsville and Atlanta), 12 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes, and finished runner-up three times. They capped their first season together with a pole and victory at the season finale in Homestead, and finished third in the point standings.
Their sophomore effort together produced another four wins (including a sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway), nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes on the way to 11th place in the final championship standings.
Their third season together proved to be a charm. Fennig picked up his first Cup title by leading Busch to the top of the standings following the inaugural "Chase for the Sprint Cup," where together they out-dueled nine of NASCAR's best in the seasons' final 10 "Chase" races. Their streak included one victory and eight finishes of sixth-place or better during the "Chase." Overall, they had three trips to victory lane (including a third consecutive win at Bristol and a sweep of both races at Loudon), one pole, 10 top-10 and 21 top-10 finishes, 746 laps led over 21 events, and only three DNFs.
Fennig and Busch leaped into 2005 looking to continue their winning ways and defend their championship. Fennig led his team to Victory Lane three times, posted nine top-five finishes, 18 top-10's, and once again worked his way into the Chase for the Championship. The team would wind up tenth in the overall year-end standings, with Kenny Wallace driving the IRWIN Tools/Sharpie Ford for the final two races of 2005.
In 2006 Fennig took a step back from the Sprint Cup Series and focused his efforts on Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford Fusion in the Nationwide Series. In just 21 Nationwide Series starts Fennig was able to help Kenseth claim four pole positions, three victories (Bristol, Phoenix and Homestead) and earn 15 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. The fall night race at Bristol Motor Speedway was the first Nationwide Series win of Fennig's career.
Fennig returned to the Sprint Cup Series in 2007 to once again take another rookie under his wing. This time around it was David Ragan. The duo earned a fifth-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 and went on to earn a total of two top fives and three top-10 finishes throughout the 2007 season. Fennig had Ragan in the running to earn the rookie of the year title, but Ragan fell just short and finished runner-up.
The 2008 Sprint Cup season was Fennig’s second year being paired up with Ragan. His experience and guidance was just what Ragan needed. Fennig guided Ragan to six top-five and 14 top-10 finishes all while barely missing the cut off for the Chase and finishing out the season in the 13th position. With Fennig’s experience and smart calls during the races Ragan was able to lead the Sprint Cup Series in number of laps completed.
