With sweeping changes to the playoff format on the horizon — owing to the fairness questions put up by fans and drivers alike — Team Penske aims to strike while the iron is hot and add a fourth consecutive title to the shelf. But this season, the road to the top may be steeper due to a critical shift within their ranks.
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Miles Stanley, who served as Team Penske’s Head of Performance Engineering for three seasons, stepped away from his role and joined Wood Brothers Racing as Josh Berry’s crew chief for 2025. The move was confirmed last October.
Stanley previously worked as a race engineer on Joey Logano’s #22 team from 2013 through 2019, during which time Logano reached the Championship 4 three times and secured the 2018 title. After wrapping up 2019 with a fifth-place finish in the standings, Stanley moved to Ryan Blaney’s team in 2020 in a similar role.
He also took the helm as crew chief for the #33 part-time entry and later transitioned into overseeing Penske’s Next Gen testing and development efforts. When NASCAR rolled out the new car in 2022, Stanley stepped into the performance engineering lead, where he played a key role in shaping the structure of a unified engineering group — one that helped deliver three straight championships.
Speaking with Davey Segal, Stanley reflected on the timing of his leadership and Penske’s run of titles, saying, “I’d like to think myself that it wasn’t a coincidence. I think I’d like to think I had something to do with it. And I do personally take credit for some of those championships.”
@Team_Penske‘s last 3 straight Cup titles came with the help of current @woodbrothers21 crew chief Miles Stanley, who was
Head of Performance Engineering.“I’d like to think I had something to do with it, and I do personally take credit for some of those championships.” pic.twitter.com/Umw7mXgbRI
— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) May 14, 2025
With insight into what made the organization tick, Stanley became deeply involved in molding the team’s technical foundation during the Next Gen era. Now with Wood Brothers Racing, Stanley views his transition as an asset rather than a hurdle. His familiarity with Penske’s drivers — their mindset, communication style, car feedback, and tendencies — gives him a strategic advantage at WBR.
Understanding how they operate allows him to tailor his approach at WBR, drawing from the playbook of a title-winning outfit. Knowing the strengths and blind spots of his former colleagues has helped him hit the ground running with his new team.
Ryan Blaney: Team Penske is stronger this year
Among Team Penske’s full-time drivers this season, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric have each parked their cars in Victory Lane, while Ryan Blaney has knocked on the door of a win, prompting him to send a clear message to the rest of the field.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Kansas race, the 2023 Cup Series champion pointed out that the Ford Mustang cars used by the team underwent a nose redesign in 2024. According to Blaney, that adjustment initially slowed them down, but the tide turned once he, Logano, and Cindric got a handle on the new setup.
Blaney noted that, unlike last year, they didn’t face any significant mechanical overhauls in 2025, allowing them to hit the ground running. Although Team Penske often finds its stride in the back half of the season, he emphasized that this time around, their team is simply ahead of schedule. Building on what they unlocked during the summer of 2024, they’ve sharpened those strengths rather than starting from scratch.
Despite the departure of their head of performance engineering, Blaney made it clear that Penske may still be a tough nut to crack for the rest of the grid.
