Blake Harris will take over as Alex Bowman’s crew chief next season, Hendrick Motorsports announced Friday.
Harris helped steer Michael McDowell to a career-best 12 top-10 finishes for Front Row Motorsports as a rookie crew chief this season.
The 35-year-old Harris takes over for Greg Ives, who is stepping down from his crew chief position after this season.
“Blake brings a tremendous amount of talent to our organization,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, in a statement. “In our conversations, it quickly became clear that he’s an excellent culture fit and believes in the way we approach competing and winning.
“He and Alex have already developed a relationship, so we’re excited to see how they grow together. Greg has assembled a winning team, and we believe Blake is the perfect person to continue that work.”
Harris has been in NASCAR since 2006, joining Evernham Motorsports. He moved to Furniture Row Racing in 2010 and became a car chief for Kurt Busch (2013) and Martin Truex Jr. (2014-18). Truex won the championship in 2017. Harris followed Truex to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019 and stayed there until going to Front Row Motorsports this season.
“The opportunity to work with a winning driver like Alex, an engaged sponsor like Ally and a championship team like Hendrick Motorsports is huge,” said Harris, who as a car chief won 29 races and made five Championship 4 playoff appearances, in a statement. “When I moved to North Carolina in 2005, my goal was to become a crew chief for a top-caliber organization that could win races and compete for titles. I’m grateful for the chance to fulfill that dream and look forward to building something special with the No. 48 team.”
Said Bowman: “I’m pumped about the chance to work with Blake. He’s a great fit for me, for our No. 48 group and for the way Hendrick Motorsports operates week in and week out. With Blake and everyone who supports this Ally Racing team, I know we can build on what Greg started and take this to the next level.”
Earlier this week, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Bowman would miss three more races because of a concussion suffered in a Sept. 25 crash at Texas Motor Speedway. That means Bowman will miss at least five races because of the injury.
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— Front Row Motorsports (@Team_FRM) October 14, 2022