Bubba Wallace will have a new crew chief in 2019 with Drew Blickensderfer leaving to take the same position with Front Row Motorsports.
Richard Petty Motorsports said in a statement it will announce a new crew chief “at the appropriate time.” Meanwhile competition director Philippe Lopez will lead the No. 43 team’s efforts to prepare for the season.
Wallace finished the 2018 season 28th in points. He earned three top 10s, including second place in the Daytona 500.
Blickensderfer, who was with RPM since 2012, heads to Front Row Motorsports, which announced its crew chief lineup Wednesday.
Blickensderfer will be paired with Michael McDowell on the No. 34 Ford. Blickensderfer replaces Derrick Finley, who will serve as FRM’s technical director.
Mike Kelley joins FRM to crew chief rookie Matt Tifft and the No. 36 Ford. Kelley was previously with Roush Fenway Racing where he was crew chief on the No. 60 Xfinity car. Kelley is a two-time Xfinity champion, winning with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2011 and 2012.
Seth Barbour will return for his second full season as crew chief on David Ragan‘s No. 38 Ford. He joined the team in the middle of the 2017 season as a crew chief for Landon Cassill.
NASCAR Cup rookie driver Matt Tifft was in a celebratory mood Wednesday — and for good reason.
Tifft, who will drive for Front Row Motorsports this season along with David Ragan and Michael McDowell, took to social media to update followers that he has reached a significant milestone in his ongoing recovery from brain tumor removal surgery on July 21, 2016.
Tifft told followers his recovery has been so good that he won’t have to undergo another routine followup brain scan and exam for at least a year.
“It’s a huge step,” Tifft said in a Twitter video. “Almost three years out from surgery now. It’s really awesome to see that nothing has come back. … Hopefully, I can keep the good health up for many more years to come.”
Tifft competed in just 10 races in the 2016 Xfinity Series before undergoing surgery. He came back to run full Xfinity seasons in 2017 (finished 7th) and 2018 (6th, including a career-best six top-5s and 19 top-10s.
Check out Tifft’s post and video from Wednesday:
Big news today! Moved to 1 year check ups for my brain tumor spot after it has further stabilized. Check it out below 👇🎊 pic.twitter.com/Yd1y0xXvkp
By comparison, here’s how Tifft’s brain looked six months after surgery in January 2017.
Here is 1st before/after pic shared. LEFT is brain tumor, RIGHT is hole in my brain where tumor was taken out and what it looks like today! pic.twitter.com/5W2fbL1qPN
McDowell enters his second year with the team. Ragan enters his sixth full-time season with the team, making him the longest-tenured driver with the organization.
The 2019 NASCAR season is now within view as we have entered the month of January.
That means a lot of highly anticipated changes in the sport will be visible on track.
Before we get to what to expect from each team specifically, here’s what Cup teams will be dealing with in 2019.
Inspired by what was used in the 2018 All-Star Race, the new rules package will feature a tapered spacer to control the engines instead of a restrictor plate. Teams will have 550 horsepower at tracks 1.33 miles and larger and 750 horsepower at tracks shorter than 1.33 miles.
Some crew chiefs, including Cole Pearn, have said the new package could result in racing that resembles what is seen in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
Teams
One team that will not be present this year is Furniture Row Racing, which ceased operations on its No. 78 Toyota after 2018 due to a lack of sponsorship.
Rick Ware Racing will field two cars with two charters. It has not announced drivers for either car.
Spire Sports + Entertainment will field the No. 77 with a charter purchased from Furniture Row Racing. A driver has not been announced.
Obaika Racing will field rookie Tanner Berryhill in the No. 97 in its first full-time season.
(Drivers are listed in order of their car number with where they finished in the points last year)
What’s new: Cassill is slated to compete full-time for StarCom Racing, which bought a charter from Richard Childress Racing. Cassill, with 29 starts, is the only driver with more than seven for the team.
What’s the same: StarCom will again compete with a Chevrolet model in its second full season of competition.
What’s new: Kurt Busch moves from Stewart-Haas Racing to replace Jamie McMurray, who drove the No. 1 for nine years. McMurray will be an analyst for Fox Sports. CGR will be the sixth team Busch has competed for in Cup.
What’s the same: Matt McCall is back to crew chief the No. 1 after four years with McMurray.
What’s the same: Crew chief Paul Wolfe and Keselowski enter their ninth season together. With the separation of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, that makes Wolfe and Keselowski the longest-tenured driver/crew chief pairing in the series.
What’s new: Dillon will have Danny Stockman Jr. as his crew chief, replacing Justin Alexander. Stockman is Dillon’s fourth crew chief in six full-time seasons in Cup. Dillon won a Xfinity and Truck Series title Stockman. Dillon will also have a new teammate in Daniel Hemric.
What’s the same: Dillon’s scheme for the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona will be a tribute to Dale Earnhardt’s scheme in the 1998 All-Star Race.
What’s new: Will be paired with crew chief Chris Gabehart, who replaces Mike Wheeler after Hamlin went winless for the first time in his Cup career in 2018.
What’s the same: Entering his 14th full-time year with Joe Gibbs Racing, he’s the team’s senior driver by two years over Kyle Busch.
What’s new: Will have veteran Ryan Newman as his teammate, replacing Trevor Bayne in the No. 6 Ford.
What’s the same: Stenhouse remains winless on non-restrictor plate tracks in his Cup career.
No. 18 Kyle Busch (4th)
What’s new: Is scheduled to make his 500th Cup start in the Feb. 24th race at Atlanta. Will have a new teammate in the form of 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr.
What’s the same: Will have Adam Stevens as his crew chief, marking their fifth year together in Cup.
(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. (2nd)
What’s new: Will compete for Joe Gibbs Racing after the closing of Furniture Row Racing. He replaces Daniel Suarez.
What’s the same: Truex is joined at Joe Gibbs Racing by crew chief Cole Pearn.
What’s new: Will enter his sophomore season under the guidance of Chad Knaus, the most successful active crew chief in NASCAR. This will be Byron’s first season in NASCAR without rookie stripes after previously competing in Xfinity and the Truck Series for just one season each.
What’s the same: Jeff Gordon is still the last (and only) driver to win in the No. 24.
What’s new: LaJoie, who got married on New Year’s Eve, is set to compete in his first full-time Cup season with Go Fas Racing, replacing Matt DiBenedetto. LaJoie will be paired with crew chief Randy Cox.
What’s the same: Go Fas Racing is still a small operation with 17 employees.
What’s the same: Richard Petty Motorsports remains in a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
No. 41 Daniel Suarez (21st)
What’s new: Suarez replaces Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing after two seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing.
What’s the same: Suarez and the No. 41 will be sponsored by Arris.
No. 47 Ryan Preece (2019 is rookie year)
What’s new: Preece moves to Cup full-time after two years in Xfinity racing part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing. JTG Daugherty Racing will now receive engines from Hendrick Motorsports.
What’s the same:JTG Daugherty Racing continues a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports.
What’s new: In his second full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman can no longer be mistaken for a rookie. Bowman will sport a new Nationwide paint scheme this season.
What’s the same: Greg Ives returns as Bowman’s crew chief on the No. 88 Chevrolet.
No. 95 Matt DiBenedetto (29th)
What’s new: DiBenedetto replaced Kasey Kahne at Leavine Family Racing after two years at Go Fas Racing. LFR will compete under the Toyota banner after being a Chevrolet team. Mike Wheeler will crew chief the No. 95.
What’s the same: 2019 will be LFR’s fourth full-time season in Cup. The team is winless since it first went Cup racing in 2011.
