Mike Bugarewicz

Last updated
Mike Bugarewicz
Clint bowyer mike buga (cropped).jpg
Bugarewicz at ISM Raceway in 2018
Personal information
Full nameMichael Matthew Bugarewicz
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg American
Born (1982-01-22) January 22, 1982 (age 42)
Lehighton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater Penn State University
OccupationInterim crew chief
Years active2016-present
Sport
Country United States
Sport Motor racing
League NASCAR Cup Series
Team14. Stewart-Haas Racing

Michael Matthew Bugarewicz (pronounced "bug-uh-rav-itch"; born January 22, 1982), nicknamed "Buga", [1] is an American NASCAR team executive who works for Stewart-Haas Racing as their performance director. He also is currently serving as their interim crew chief for their No. 14 car in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Chase Briscoe. He previously served as the permanent crew chief of that car from 2016 to 2019 when it was driven by Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer as well as from 2020 to 2021 on their No. 10 car driven by Aric Almirola.

Contents

Racing career

Prior to being a crew chief, he was the engineer for Kevin Harvick's No. 4 team at SHR, where he won the 2014 championship with him as well as a second-place points finish in 2015, which included a remarkable thirteen second-place race finishes and 28 top-10 race finishes for Harvick and the team that year. He currently serves as director of performance for SHR. [2] In 2016, he was promoted to crew chief for SHR's No. 14 team, where he worked with Tony Stewart in 2016 and Clint Bowyer [3] [4] from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, he became the crew chief for SHR's No. 10 Ford Mustang driven by Aric Almirola for Stewart-Haas Racing in a swap with Johnny Klausmeier, who moved from the No. 10 car to the No. 14 car. [5] He was promoted to Performance Director for SHR in 2022.

On May 31, 2023, NASCAR issued an L3 penalty to Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team after a counterfeit part was found on the car after it was taken to the NASCAR R&D Center after the Coca-Cola 600. Crew chief Johnny Klausmeier was suspended for the next six races (Gateway, Sonoma, Nashville, the Chicago Street Course, Atlanta and New Hampshire) [6] The team decided not to appeal the penalty and Bugarewicz returned to crew chief for SHR for Briscoe in these six races. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clint Bowyer</span> American racing driver (born 1979)

Clinton Edward Bowyer is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart–Haas Racing</span> American professional stock car racing team

Stewart–Haas Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team was co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It was founded in 2002 as Haas CNC Racing after Haas, whose company was a sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports, elected to form his own team. In 2009, Stewart, who had been driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, made a deal with Haas to drive for the team and in return receive a 50% stake in it. The team closed at the conclusion of the 2024 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Addington</span> NASCAR crew chief

Steven J. Addington is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for RSS Racing as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2024, he is primarily crew chiefing their No. 29 Ford Mustang driven by Blaine Perkins. He has won 20 NASCAR Cup Series races and 11 Xfinity Series races as a crew chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Childers</span> NASCAR crew chief

Rodney Scott Childers is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. He most notably worked for Stewart-Haas Racing as the crew chief of their No. 4 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Josh Berry and previously driven by Kevin Harvick. Harvick and Childers won the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship together. In 2025, he has moved to work for Spire Motorsports as the crew chief for their No. 7 Chevy Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Justin Haley

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Zipadelli</span> NASCAR crew chief

Gregory C. Zipadelli, nicknamed "Zippy", is an American crew chief in NASCAR. He is formerly the competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing. Zipadelli is most notable for being the crew chief of the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Joey Logano from 1999 to 2011. He won 34 races and two championships as a crew chief.

Richard Warner Boswell II is an American former professional stock car racing driver and crew chief who works for Richard Childress Racing as the crew chief of their No. 3 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Austin Dillon. He previously crew chiefed the Stewart–Haas Racing No. 98 car in the Xfinity Series driven by Chase Briscoe and Riley Herbst. He previously drove in the Xfinity Series in one race in 2009 for JR Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 AdvoCare 500 (Phoenix)</span> Car race

The 2012 AdvoCare 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 11, 2012, at Phoenix International Speedway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 319 laps on the 1-mile asphalt tri-oval, it was the thirty-fifth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the ninth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, his only win of the season, while Denny Hamlin finished second and Kyle Busch finished third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Scott (crew chief)</span> American crew chief

Billy Scott is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for 23XI Racing as the crew chief for their No. 45 Toyota Camry driven by Tyler Reddick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Briscoe</span> American racing driver (born 1994)

Chase David Wayne Briscoe is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also owns a World of Outlaws sprint car racing team, Chase Briscoe Racing. He won the 2016 ARCA Racing Series championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series</span> 70th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 70th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Brickyard 400 on September 9, 2018. The playoffs ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018. Martin Truex Jr. was the defending champion, having won his first in the series.

John Henry Klausmeier is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Richard Childress Racing as their Technical Director. He previously was employed at Stewart-Haas Racing, serving as an engineer, crew chief and Technical Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series</span> 71st season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 71st season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Gander RV Duel qualifying races and the 61st running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Brickyard 400 in September. The playoffs ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 17, 2019. Joey Logano of Team Penske entered as the defending series champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 NASCAR Cup Series</span> 72nd season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series was the 72nd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 49th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on August 29. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the Season Finale 500, the first finale at Phoenix Raceway on November 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 NASCAR Cup Series</span> 73rd season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Gen (NASCAR)</span> Seventh generation NASCAR race car

The Next Gen car, originally known as the Gen-7 car, is the common name for the racecar that is currently in use in the NASCAR Cup Series. Its use began with the 2022 season. A further evolution of the Generation 6 car, the Next Gen features "improved" aero and downforce packages while introducing new technologies on the track. In addition, the Next Gen is designed to lower costs and attract new original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to compete with Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 NASCAR Cup Series</span> 74th season of NASCAR Cup Series racing

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series was the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern Cup Series. The 2022 season marked the debut of the Next Gen Car, which was originally supposed to debut in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this was the first season to have races covered by USA Network, which took over for the now-defunct NBCSN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Shiplett</span> NASCAR crew chief

Michael Gene Shiplett is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Niece Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driven by Matt Mills. He previously worked for Richard Childress Racing as their Xfinity Series competition director as a crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Turner Motorsports and Evernham / Richard Petty Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Daytona 500</span> 65th Running of the event, held in Daytona Beach, Florida

The 2023 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race and the 65th running of the event. It was held on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson returned to the Cup Series for Legacy Motor Club in this race. This was the longest Daytona 500 in history going 530 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Coca-Cola 600</span> NASCAR Cup Series race

The 2023 Coca-Cola 600 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 29, 2023, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina and the 64th running of the event. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 14th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the third of the four crown jewel races. The race was postponed from Sunday, May 28 to Monday, May 29, due to rain.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series saw 36 chartered teams and several open entries compete throughout the season.

References

  1. ↑ "MIKE 'BUGA' BUGAREWICZ: Crew Chief, No. 14 Chevrolet" (PDF). truespeedcommunication.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Stewart-Haas Racing Bolsters Competition Leadership with Key Promotion and New Addition". 4 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Spencer, Lee (April 7, 2017). "Why Mike Bugarewicz is the perfect crew chief for Clint Bowyer". Motorsport.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  4. ↑ DeCola, Pat (October 20, 2017). "Clint Bowyer addresses confrontation with crew chief, team's future". NASCAR.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  5. ↑ Page, Scott (December 4, 2019). "Stewart-Haas Racing announces 2020 crew chief lineup". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  6. ↑ "NASCAR issues L3-level penalty to Stewart-Haas Racing for counterfeit part". NASCAR . May 31, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mike Bugarewicz to crew chief for Chase Briscoe at Gateway". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media. June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.


NASCAR practice.jpg

This biographical article related to NASCAR is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.