Chad Walter
Crew Chief, No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge
Chad Walter joins Penske Racing for the 2009 season as the crew chief for the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Dodge with rookie driver Justin Allgaier.
Hailing from the small town of Albion, N.Y., Walter fell in love with racing when he was in high school and an uncle took him to Watkins Glen International. He soon found himself at Cornell University, where, in addition to playing defensive end on the football team and earning an engineering degree, he also worked on the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers’ race car design team. With Walter’s assistance, the team won the national championship twice (1992, 1993).
Walter moved to North Carolina in 1993 and until the end of 1999, he worked his way through the garage as a mechanic, fabricator, shock specialist and more for several NASCAR teams including Hendrick Motorsports, NEMCO Motor¬sports and Bobby Labonte Racing. From 2000 to 2004, Walter was an engineer for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in both the Nationwide and Cup Series.
“Those years when I was a mechanic, fabricator and general go-to guy taught me important lessons,” said Walter. “Contrary to what people may think outside of racing, stock cars are very intricate machines and there was no better way to learn about them than starting with a small team and working my way up.”
In 2005, Walter returned to Hendrick Motorsports as a Nationwide Series crew chief. He headed up the No. 5 car team in 2005 and 2006 and directed the No. 24 team in 2007. Most recently, Walter was the crew chief of the No. 5 NNS team for JR Motorsports.
Walter enjoys playing golf and building remote-controlled airplanes, helicopters and boats. He and his wife Sherry reside in Mooresville, N.C.
Jonathan Hassler
Team Engineer, No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge
Jonathan Hassler is entering his second season as the engineer for Penske Racing’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) effort.
Hassler, from Greencastle, Ind., introduced the racing lifestyle to his family once he stepped behind the wheel of a go-kart at a mere eight years old. During his 10-year karting career, including a stint in the World Karting Association, his mother and three brothers all got “the bug” and started racing.
Hassler’s racing career also extended to up dirt tracks across the Midwest behind the wheel of an outlaw modified midget, as well as a run in Super Late Models. While finishing high school and earning his mechanical engineering degree from Purdue University, Hassler kept his racing dreams alive, but not always as a driver. He spent time at FABCAR Engineering working on Daytona Prototypes, worked as a chief mechanic and crew chief on two Indianapolis-area Super Late Model teams, and ended up in Charlotte as an engineering intern at Ginn Racing. In January 2008, the accomplished racer and engineer joined Penske Racing in a dual role, as engineer for both the No. 12 NNS team and the NASCAR Cup Series test team.
In 2009, Hassler will be working with crew chief Chad Walter and the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge, driven by Justin Allgaier.
Hassler started working with Allgaier as soon as the young driver joined Penske Racing in September 2008. “Since our first test at Charlotte this past fall, I’ve felt sure that Justin is a very special driver,” said Hassler. “He has an excellent ability to describe the car, has a good feel for what the car needs to do to go fast, and has a good grasp on what adjustments are needed to get the car to that point.”
Hassler lives in Mooresville, N.C.
Like most modern-day NASCAR stars, Justin Allgaier's race-car beginnings came early in life. Well before he joined Penske Racing as the driver of the team's No. 12 car in the Nationwide Series for 2009, Allgaier planted his racing roots at the tender age of five, behind the wheel of a quarter midget roadster. The Riverton, Ill. native and son of Mike and Dorothy Allgaier, Hoosier Tire Distributors and racers, Allgaier was around racing since before he was born.
From 1991 to 2002, the kid dubbed "Little Gator" - named for his size and ferociousness behind the wheel - made his way up through the motorsports ranks, collecting trophies and accolades along the way. By age 12, he was a five-time quarter midget champion with more than 100 wins to his credit. He then went into the midget and micro-sprint car ranks, and in the micros chalked up five more wins. At 13, he started his "fendered" car career in the UMP Late Model Series, while continuing his successful midget runs.
For Allgaier, moving into stock cars was a bit of a challenge in comparison to the lightweight sprinters he was used to. "The biggest thing was the slower steering of the stock cars," said Allgaier. "Initially it was like driving a truck, but after a few races, I got used to it. One thing that was tougher to get used to was not being able to see the front tires."