Andrea Mueller will have a much different job for this year’s Daytona 500 than the last one she worked. As an engineer at Team Penske in 2009, Mueller’s race-day job did not rank among the most thrilling. She spent race days as the team scorer, where she would sit in a NASCAR-provided booth and push a button every time the car crossed the start/finish line as a way for NASCAR to have a backup scoring system. With the advancement in electronic scoring, that job no longer exists. Her job Feb. 26 at Daytona International Speedway will feel significantly more important as well as provide an incredible thrill and likely way more stress as a culmination of her path over the past 10 years. She will work in her first NASCAR Cup race as the lead engineer for #21-Wood Brothers Racing driver Ryan Blaney. The Cal Poly graduate worked for Boeing and Pratt & Whitney, doing projects for the space shuttle program at NASA before joining Team Penske in 2007. She steadily worked her way up, having served as the lead engineer for Penske’s Xfinity Series #22 team, which won 25 races and three owners titles in her five seasons. About a month ago, Mueller was offered the job as lead engineer for Blaney, who drives for Penske affiliate Wood Brothers Racing. Her role will give her the highest profile of any female in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage.(full article at ESPN)
