The beginning of the offseason in NASCAR is always accompanied by a flurry of crew members throughout the sport going on the move, taking their toolboxes from one race shop to another as new teams and new opportunities call. This movement includes the that of crew chiefs to lead new teams, as has already been seen in the first week of the offseason.
Prior to the end of the 2021 season, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Matt McCall will become the crew chief for the No. 6 Ford to be driven by new driver and team co-owner Brad Keselowski. McCall joins Roush Fenway after seven years as a crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing, where he won three races with Kurt Busch while also leading Jamie McMurray to three playoff appearances.
Elsewhere within the Ford camp, Wood Brothers Racing announced this week that Brian Wilson will be the new crew chief for the team’s No. 21 Ford which will be driven by rookie Harrison Burton. Wilson joins the Wood Brothers from Team Penske’s Xfinity Series team, where he won 23 races in total as well as the 2020 series championship with driver Austin Cindric.
In addition to his extensive Xfinity experience, Wilson also served as a fill-in crew chief for four races with Brad Keselowski in 2017.
The King is also getting a new crew chief in 2022 from the ranks of the Xfinity Series. Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Dave Elenz will become the new crew chief for the No. 43 Chevrolet driven by Erik Jones. Elenz moves to the Cup Series after six years at JR Motorsports which saw him win 15 races and two championships with current Cup drivers William Byron and Tyler Reddick. Elenz was most recently the crew chief for Noah Gragson, who he guided to three wins and a Championship 4 appearance in 2021.
Elenz replaces Jerry Baxter, who had served as crew chief at Richard Petty Motorsports for the past two seasons. Baxter is returning to his old stomping grounds in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he will join David Gilliland Racing to become the crew chief for driver Tanner Gray.
In addition to the announced crew chief moves, reports have circulated that Billy Scott will join 23XI Racing to become the crew chief for the new No. 45 Toyota being driven by Kurt Busch. Busch and Scott previously worked together at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018, and earned six Top 5s, 22 Top 10s, and a win at Bristol together en route to a seventh-place finish in the season standings.
