Trackhouse Hires Hendrick Engineer as 2026 Crew Chief for Chastain

Andrew Coppley, HHP

As Ross Chastain ventures into his fifth full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing, there will be a brand-new voice calling the shots from on top of the pit box.

Brandon McSwain, a long-time engineer for the No. 24 at Hendrick Motorsports, will be taking on his first full-time crew chiefing gig in 2026, when he partners with Trackhouse Racing to serve as shot-caller for the No. 1 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The Auburndale, Florida-native will be taking over the role of crew chief from Phil Surgen, who, after a half-decade partnership with Ross Chastain (between Chip Ganassi Racing (2021) and Trackhouse (2022-2025)), will step off the pit box to take another role within the Justin Marks-owned operation.

Surgen has served as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief in nearly 200 events throughout his career, the majority of which have come with Chastain. That time has also included six victories, the most notable of which was the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this season.

With three top-10 points finishes in the last four seasons at NASCAR's top-level, and a single Championship 4 appearance (2022), McSwain will have some relatively large shoes to step into, as Chastain and Trackhouse Racing look to take the next step to being a consistent, race-winning organization.

Though, when the engines fire for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1, 2026, it will mark the first-time that McSwain has been a full-time crew chief in any of NASCAR's National Series, let alone the NASCAR Cup Series.

Granted, there have been part-time tenures in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (at JR Motorsports in 2017 and Hendrick Motorsports in 2024) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (at Billy Boat Motorsports in 2015). Neither of those instances resulted in a victory, but valuable experience that McSwain will have to use in order to master his new position.

This hiring, confirmed the afternoon following the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix, is the second new crew chief in the Trackhouse Racing stable for 2026. In September, the organization confirmed that Randall Burnett would be the crew chief paired with Connor Zilisch for his rookie campaign at NASCAR's top level.

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

At this time it is unclear whether Matt Swiderski (the crew chief of the No. 99 in 2025) or Stephen Doran (the crew chief of the No. 88 in 2025) will remain with the team through the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.