Ross Chastain will be paired with new crew chief Brandon McSwain (no relation to former crew chief Michael ‘Fatback’ McSwain) in 2026, sources with direct knowledge of the move have confirmed to RACER.
McSwain will replace Phil Surgen, who has worked with Chastain since 2021. In their time together, Chastain and Surgen have won six races – the most recent being the Coca-Cola 600 in May – and have made one Championship 4 appearance.
An engineer at Hendrick Motorsports on the No. 24 team of William Byron since 2019, McSwain will get his first opportunity at being a full-time Cup Series crew chief.
— Racer —