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Trackhouse Racing announces new crew chief for Ross Chastain No. 1 team

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones11/03/25brianjones_93
Ross Chastain (6)
Oct 11, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain (1) during practice for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Trackhouse Racing will have a new crew chief for the Ross Chastain No. 1 team for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. On Monday, the organization announced that Brandon McSwain will be Chastain’s crew chief. McSwain will replace Phil Surgen, who will move to a different role in Trackhouse Racing.

Last week, Kelly Crandall of RACER reported the news of McSwain becoming Ross Chastain’s new crew chief. McSwain previously worked as an engineer at Hendrick Motorsports on the No. 24 team of William Byron since 2019. This will be the first time he will serve as a full-time crew chief in the Cup Series.

McSwain served as an interim crew chief for Byron when Rudy Fugle was not available. He was also a crew chief in the Xfinity Series (now called O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), leading Byron in once race in 2017 at JR Motorsports.

Chastain will look to do big things with McSwain after having a solid 2025 season with Surgen. He finished the year 10th in points after winning once race and earning four top-five finishes, and 12 finishes in the top 10.

Kevin Harvick shares thoughts on Ross Chastain

Chastian reached the playoffs but was eliminated after the Round of 12. After his playoff elimination, NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on Chastain.

“Ross Chastain is very well prepared week in and week out,” Harvick said on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour last month. “His work ethic is over the top. He’s very honest; he gives it all that he has. There’s no questioning any of that. I think in these types of moments, this is when you find out where people are from a championship standpoint. Is it real, or is it not, when you get to the last level?

“I think he just tries to do too much. I think he overthinks some of these things to the point where, ‘Do I really need to race that hard to the end of pit road so far that I’m trying to gain a spot on the 77 (Carson Hocevar) car that I go so far that I hit the wall driving off pit road?’ You got to draw the line between realistic and unrealistic, right? Don’t try to overdo the things that you’re doing.”