Ross Chastain is set to be paired with a brand-new crew chief for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Trackhouse Racing confirmed on Monday.
Brandon McSwain, a long-time member of the No. 24 team at Hendrick Motorsports, will be replacing Phil Surgen as the shot-caller of the No. 1 Chevrolet, beginning with The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1.
Welcome to The House, Brandon McSwain!
He’ll lead @RossChastain‘s No. 1 team in 2026.
Happy to share 6-time race winning crew chief Phil Surgen will move to a new role within the organization. pic.twitter.com/30HLK9s10I
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) November 3, 2025
Phil Surgen, who has been partnered with Chastain since the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series campaign (at Chip Ganassi Racing), will be moving into a new role with the organization.
A long-time engineer with the winningest NASCAR Cup Series program in history, Hendrick Motorsports, this opportunity will mark the first full-time opportunity for McSwain as a crew chief.
The Auburndale, Florida-native has served as a crew chief on a part-time basis in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (with JR Motorsports in 2017 and Hendrick Motorsports in 2024) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (with Billy Boat Motorsports in 2015).
Since joining forces with Trackhouse Racing to pilot the No. 1 Chevrolet at the start of 2022, Chastain has been paired with Phil Surgen. In a four-year stint together, the pairing collected six victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, the most notable of which was this season’s Coca-Cola 600.
Together, Chastain and Surgen finished second in points in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, but since then, they have yet to even return to the semi-final round of the postseason, recording points finishes of ninth, 19th, and 10th, respectively.
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McSwain is the second new crew chief to be announced to the Trackhouse Racing lineup for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. In October, Randall Burnett, long-time Richard Childress Racing crew chief, was confirmed to be joining the team to serve as shot-caller for rookie phenom Connor Zilisch.
Chastain will be entering his eighth full-time NASCAR Cup Series campaign next season, and his fifth behind the wheel of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign will begin with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, taking place on Saturday, February 1, 2026. Coverage of the event will be on FOX.
