NASCAR 2023: Everything you need to know about Stewart-Haas Racing's full crew chief lineup for the season

Last week, Stewart-Haas Racing announced the full crew chief lineup for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, adding two new crew chiefs for the team's 15th season.

Chad Johnston, who previously worked at the organization as crew chief for Tony Stewart in 2014-15, returns in 2023 as the crew chief for the #41 Ford driven by new SHR Cup driver Ryan Preece. The veteran replaces Mike Shiplett, who had been #41 SRH team’s crew chief for the past three seasons.

In 2016, Johnston joined Chip Ganassi Racing as crew chief for Kyle Larson and managed to win six races together in five years. He then returned to the Camping World Truck Series with David Gilliland Racing alongside Ryan Preece, where they won a race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021.

Also, with the expansion of Stewart-Haas Racing's two-car charter in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Jonathan Toney, who served as an engineer at the organization, has been promoted to crew chief for SHR’s new #00 team with driver Cole Custer.

In 2003, Toney first moved to the original Haas CNC Racing and served as the lead engineer for Stewart and the #14 team from 2009-12, a period which included Stewart’s third Cup championship in 2011. Since then, he has remained an engineer at SHR and has supported the organization’s Cup and Xfinity programs. He will now take up a new role as a crew chief.

However, the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing’s crew chief lineup remains the same as last year.

Here’s the lineup:

• Rodney Childers, the crew chief for Kevin Harvick and #4 Cup team
• John Klausmeier, the crew chief for Chase Briscoe and #14 Cup team
• Drew Blickensderfer, the crew chief for Aric Almirola and the #10 Cup team
• Richard Boswell, the crew chief for driver Riley Herbst and the #98 Xfinity team

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“We’ve got two guys who are hungry to win” – Chief Competition Officer at Stewart Haas Racing NASCAR team

Chad Johnston and Jonathan Toney have plenty of experience working with NASCAR and have also served Stewart-Haas Racing in the past. In a statement, Chief Competition Officer at SHR, Greg Zipadelli said:

“In Chad Johnston and Jonathan Toney, we’ve got two guys who are hungry to win that also bring a lot of smarts and experience to each of their roles. Both are very familiar with our program and our people.”

Stewart Haas Racing and its Cup drivers will be seen in action in the Cup Series at the Daytona International Speedway on February 19th, 2023.