Chase Elliott will be getting a new car chief for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was revealed on Friday that Matt Barndt, formerly the car chief for the driver of the No. 9, has left Hendrick Motorsports.
Barndt will join McAnally-Hilgemann Racing as the crew chief for Christian Eckes in the FedEx Freight Truck Series for 2027.
Hendrick Motorsports has yet to reveal who the new car chief for Elliott will be next year.
Chase Elliott Getting New Car Chief For 2027
FOX motorsports reporter Bob Pockrass brought the news of Elliott’s car chief change to light via X. The NASCAR insider also noted a few other shake-ups that were made.
“Chase Elliott car chief Matt Barndt moves to McAnally to crew chief Christian Eckes, whose crew chief Kevin Bellicourt now GM of MHR. Darren Fraley, crew chief for Kris Wright, will crew chief Hemric. Dewey Townsend, who crew chiefed No. 20 truck, will crew chief Nick Sanchez,” Pockrass wrote via X.
The car chief should not get confused with the crew chief. A crew chief is essentially the team’s leader, making in-race strategy calls and has other duties to help guide the team. The car chief is second-in-command to a crew chief and acts as the lead mechanic.
Alan Gustafson has been atop the pit box as Elliott’s crew chief from the time the driver’s Cup career began in 2016. Over the last 11 seasons, Elliott and Gustafson have shared a litany of success.
Elliott has won all 23 of his Cup Series victories with Gustafson. The pairing also won the 2020 Cup Series championship, marking the first title for both Elliott and Gustafson.
Gustafson was previously the crew chief for NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon from 2011-2015. Prior to that, Gustafson worked with the likes of Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.
Chase Elliott’s Alarming 2026 Cup Series Statistics
Given the way the latter half of the 2026 Cup Series season went for Chase Elliott, it is evident why Hendrick is wanting to make some personnel changes.
Elliott started off the 2026 campaign strong with a victory at Martinsville Speedway, the seventh race of the season. It was the earliest in the season Elliott had ever scored a win.
Four races later, Elliott was victorious at the Texas Motor Speedway. After 11 races, the Hendrick Motorsports star found himself third in the standings with two wins.
But it all went downhill from there.
In the next 15 races, Elliott only scored one top-5 finish and wound up falling to eighth in the standings by the time the Chase began. Elliott scored only two top fives in the Chase and led only one lap during the entire 10-race Chase.
Elliott finished 12th in the points standings, the second-lowest the Dawsonville, Georgia native has ranked in the final standings. His 13 top-10 finishes was a career-low and his 15.1 average finish tied his career-low from 2019.
While the beginning of the season looked promising for Elliott, he and the No. 9 team fell into a slump. Now that the offseason has arrived, it will be interesting to see how the 2020 Cup champion regroups for 2027.
Chase Elliott’s Team Makes Massive Change For 2027 Season