The No. 1 team at Trackhouse Racing will undergo a change for the 2026 season as a new crew chief joins Ross Chastain.
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As Racer's Kelly Crandall reported on Oct. 27, Brandon McSwain will move from Hendrick Motorsports to Trackhouse Racing to take over the No. 1 team. The team has confirmed this report while also stating that veteran crew chief Phil Surgen will move to a new role within the organization.
McSwain has worked as an engineer on the No. 24 team of William Byron since the 2019 season. This team has celebrated 16 wins — including two Daytona 500s — and three trips to the Championship 4.
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
McSwain has also dabbled in the crew chief role over the past few years. He guided Byron during one Xfinity Series race in 2017 and four races in 2024. He also served as the interim crew chief in the 2024 Daytona 500 after NASCAR ejected Rudy Fugle for an inspection infraction.
Surgen has spent the last five seasons working with Chastain at two separate organizations. He first joined forces with the Florida native on the No. 42 team at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. This duo then moved to the No. 1 in 2022 after Trackhouse Racing purchased Chip Ganassi Racing's charters, shop, and assets.
Chastain, Surgen, and the No. 1 team have celebrated six wins together. They scored their first at Circuit of the Americas in 2022 and then added another at Talladega Superspeedway later in the season. The No. 1 team reached the Championship 4 as Chastain finished the year second in the standings behind Joey Logano.
The No. 1 team won races at Nashville Superspeedway and Phoenix Raceway in 2023 and then at Kansas Speedway last season. Their last win with Surgen atop the pit box was this season's Coca-Cola 600, Chastain's first crown jewel.
The Florida native made the playoffs in three of his five seasons working with Surgen. Now, he will try to return to the playoffs in 2026 while joining forces with McSwain for the first time.
