Mike Cool
We kick off our list of top 25 crew chiefs since 1990 with Mike Cool, a Lebanon, Pennsylvania, native who raced with a variety of teams and drivers over his career. The list includes Randy Wolfe, Kenny Jacobs, Kevin Huntley, Keith Kauffman, Paul McMahan, and Kraig Kinser to name a few.
Accomplishments: Coolie, as he is affectionately known, had a huge year with Kenny Jacobs in 1995, helping his driver and the Warren Johnson-owned No. U2 to 11 All Star Circuit of Champions victories. The mark was second to eventual champion Dale Blaney, who secured 12 wins. Cool and the team continued to focus on the All Stars, adding eight more wins over the next three years with Kevin Huntley and Keith Kauffman in the car. Paul McMahan joined forces with Cool from 1999 to 2002, and the pair secured McMahan’s first World of Outlaws win in 2001. After the Johnson No. U2 shut down, Cool took over the reins for Kraig Kinser and helped him to 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year honors. The team jelled, and in 2005, the pairing of Cool and Kinser captured the prestigious Knoxville Nationals. Riding the momentum of the biggest score of his career, Cool hooked up with Tim Kaeding to run the newly-formed National Sprint Tour in 2006 and visited Victory Lane 15 times during the season. Cool bounced around the rest of his career, wrenching for Lonnie Parsons on the Casey General Stores No. 6 with Danny Lasoski and a second stint with Kinser before succumbing to cancer.
Did You Know: Cool had a no-nonsense personality and was considered one of the quiet guys in the pit area. That all changed when he loosened up, and when it came to talking about racing, he wouldn’t stop, according to World of Outlaws driver Kraig Kinser. “The guy was a lot of fun,” Kinser said. “He would have a few beers and open up. He would joke around, and when he talked about racing, he wouldn’t stop talking about it. When it got down to actually racing, it was down to business, but he could kick back and have fun with the best of them.”
Why Here: Signature wins in big events, championships, high win totals, and innovation are a few of the components we used to put this list together. Mike Cool has some key wins in World of Outlaws competition and helped jumpstart Kraig Kinser’s Sprint Car career by winning dirt-track racing’s biggest event, the Knoxville Nationals. Cool had the respect of all the drivers and fellow crew chiefs for his knowledge and no-nonsense approach, which earned him the first spot on the SprintCarUnlimited.com list of Top Crew Chiefs since 1990.
They said it: “He told you exactly how it was, and some people didn’t like that aspect of it. As for political correctness, Coolie didn’t always fit that portion of it, and people had a hard time giving him full control of their race team. It threw people off a little bit, but as far as his wealth of knowledge, he was unbelievable … The motor, the car, every aspect of a Sprint Car.” — World of Outlaws driver Kraig Kinser.