Trackhouse to pair Chastain with McSwain

Ross Chastain will be paired with new crew chief Brandon 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. He had served on an interim basis for Byron when Rudy Fugle was unavailable, such as at Daytona International Speedway in August due to an inspection infraction.

McSwain has previous experience as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series. He led Byron in one race in 2017 at JR Motorsports, the year he served as Byron’s team engineer, which ended in a championship, and four races in 2024 for Hendrick Motorsports.

Trackhouse Racing is expected to announce McSwain's hiring after the conclusion of the season.