UA engineering grad named Team Penske crew chief for Daytona 500

The University of Akron News

02/12/2021

Samuel “Miles” Stanley

Miles Stanley (left), UA engineering graduate and current crew chief for Team Penske, conferring with a colleague during a qualifying race for the Daytona 500.

Samuel “Miles” Stanley, a 2007 graduate of The University of Akron’s mechanical engineering program, was recently named crew chief for Team Penske’s part-time NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) team with reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric, who qualified on Feb. 11 for the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. With eight successful NCS seasons – including a championship season in 2018 – already under his belt working as a race engineer for Team Penske, one of the most decorated teams in auto racing history, Stanley is primed to take the organization into another successful racing season.

Stanley serving as the crew chief on the No.33 Ford is like a head coach, acting as the highest-ranking position on a race team. He’s responsible for the pit crew, race car, and tracking performance. All decisions on the No. 33 Ford Mustang being driven by Cindric, , come from Stanley. He is also responsible for pit road strategy, taking Cindric’s feedback regarding the handling conditions, and making the proper adjustments to the racecar set up.

Stanley is originally from Canton, Ohio, and attended Jackson High School in Massillon. While at The University of Akron, he became interested in motorsports by his participating in the Formula SAE program where he and fellow members of Zips Racing designed and built Formula-style open-wheel cars that competed internationally against other school's SAE programs.

“The biggest impact on my motorsports career was the Formula SAE program, without a doubt,” says Stanley. “Without that experience, I would not have gotten my first job at Polestar Motor Racing while I was still in school.”

Stanley joined Team Penske before the start of the 2013 season and served as an engineer for crew chief Todd Gordon and driver Joey Logano. During his first seven seasons, the No. 22 team amassed 21 wins (including the 2015 Daytona 500), 100 top-five finishes,159 top-10s and the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship before Stanley transitioned to race engineer for the No. 12 Ford team and driver Ryan Blaney last season.

“There is a lot of hard work and effort that goes into competing at this level in Nascar. It is the kind of work that you have to love doing to make it all worthwhile. I’ve always been a competitive person, the competition every week is one of the most rewarding parts, especially when you come out with a win.”

After graduating from UA, Stanley worked at Polestar Racing Group from 2005-2008 working in the Champ Car Atlantic Series working with drivers like Katherine Legge and Alex Barron. While teamed up with Legge, Stanley was able to win three races and the team finished third in the season championship during the 2005 season. After Polestar, Stanley went on to work at Robby Gordon Motorsports where he worked up to crew chief at their part-time NASCAR Cup Series team.. Stanley will continue to work with the No. 12 team of Blaney during all of the other 2021 Cup Series races. Additional 2021 Cup Series races for Cindric and the No. 33 Ford Mustang team will be announced in the future.

Stanley resides in Mooresville, N.C. with his wife Sarah and two sons. In his spare time, he enjoys tinkering with motorcycles and classic cars and he is an avid cyclist.

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