Hendrick Motorsports has named Blake Harris as the crew chief for Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Harris will complete his first year as crew chief with the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team before joining Hendrick Motorsports in mid-November.
“We wish Blake nothing but the best in the future. He helped our organization become better and we are committed to ensuring that all our teams continue to improve,” said Bob Jenkins, owner of FRM. “We have made considerable strides forward on and off the track in recent years and our goal is to continue to increase our performance. We have already begun the process of building for next season in a lot of different areas. This includes finding our next leader of the No. 34 Ford team.”
This season, Harris has led FRM driver Michael McDowell to a career-best season with 12 top-10 finishes in 32 Cup Series starts. At Hendrick Motorsports, Harris will replace current No. 48 crew chief Greg Ives, who announced in August that he will step down from the role at the end of the season.
“Blake brings a tremendous amount of talent to our organization,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “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 joined the NASCAR scene at 18 years old, starting his career with Evernham Motorsports (later Richard Petty Motorsports) in 2006. Since then, he has worked with Furniture Row Racing as car chief for Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr., as well as car chief for Truex at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“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 has won 29 races and made five Championship 4 playoff appearances as a car chief. “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.”