Top 5 Crew Chiefs in the NASCAR Cup Series history ft. Dale Inman

Drivers are the ones who always take center stage in NASCAR. But in motorsports, teamwork is paramount, and it takes the best crew chief to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

The role of the crew chief is to take calls regarding the strategy, decide on the race car's setup, analyze the driver's performance in real-time during races, keep motivating the driver to perform at his best, and work with spotters to monitor telemetry and provide relevant data to the driver. Here's a look at the top 5 Crew Chiefs in the history of NASCAR:

#5. Tim Brewer

Tim Brewer is a former stock car racing crew chief, renowned for managing famous drivers such as Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tim Richmond, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Geoffrey Bodine, and Bill Elliott. In his fourteen-year professional career (1978–1992), Brewer has assisted his drivers in winning fifty-three Cup Series races.

After his time as a chief, Brewer became a television analyst for NASCAR on ESPN. He is also a part of NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now.

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#4. Harry Hyde

Considered the pride of NASCAR, Harry Hyde was the inspiration for the iconic character, Harry Hogge, from the movie Days of Thunder. The Kentucky-based crew chief had managed drivers like Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker, Dave Marcis, Neil Bonnett, Geoffrey Bodine, and Tim Richmond during his 27-year-long career. As a chief, he was responsible for 56 wins.

Before joining NASCAR, Hyde served in the U.S. Army as a Mechanic. Later, he continued his time as a mechanic and then as a car builder for local competitions. Hyde died on May 13th, 1996, due to a heart attack.

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#3. Herb Nab

With a career spanning over 17 years, Herb Nab was responsible for 74 NASCAR Cup Series wins. He managed drivers like Nelson Stacy, Fred Lorenzen, Junior Johnson, Darel Dieringer, LeeRoy Dieringer, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Lennie Pond, and Buddy Baker.

Apart from his time as a crew chief, he also had a positive impact on society through various charitable work and community initiatives. Nab passed away on October 29th, 1988.

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#2. Chad Knaus

Chad Knaus, the former NASCAR Crew Chief, is currently working as the Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports. During his time as chief, Knaus managed two drivers, Jimmie Johnson and William Byron, and was responsible for 82 wins (81 for Johnson and one for Byron).

Before assuming his role as the chief, Knaus worked as a general fabricator, a rear tire changer, and a car chief.

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#1. Dale Inman

Deemed as NASCAR's most successful Crew Chief, Dale Inman is responsible for 193 race wins and eight championships with drivers such as Richard Petty, Tim Richmond, Terry Labonte, Rick Wilson, John Andretti, and Bobby Hamilton. After serving close to 34 years as a chief, Inman retired in 1998. Later, he served as a consultant for Petty Enterprises for some time. Inman was a part of the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.