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Blake Harris will pilot the No. 48 Ally Racing pit box in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. He is the crew chief with driver Alex Bowman and the 14-time Cup Series champion Hendrick Motorsports organization.
The 36-year-old was introduced as the most recent crew chief for the Rick Hendrick-owned team in October 2022. It was his first season as the shot caller for the No. 34 squad at Front Row Motorsports. Harris helped Michael McDowell, the No. 34 driver, to a career-high number of top-10 finishes that season.
Blake Harris's early life
Blake Harris from Maypearl, Texas, began his racing career at the age of 11 in a dirt go-kart. He began racing stock cars at the age of 14 and rebuilt his first vehicle multiple times before making his dirt stock car debut at the age of 15. Harris switched to asphalt trucks in a touring series in his native state after finishing his dirt stock car season.
Blake Harris's NASCAR History and Achievements
Harris raced in the touring series for two seasons before relocating to North Carolina to seek a career in NASCAR. He joined Evernham Motorsports then, later known as Richard Petty Motorsports, in 2006 at the age of 18, and worked in both the engine and chassis departments.
Blake Harris went to Colorado in 2010 to join Furniture Row Racing, where he became the car chief for Kurt Busch in 2013. That year, Harris and the team had 11 top-five finishes, 16 top-10 finishes, a pole position, and the organization's first playoff place.
From 2014 through 2018, Harris was the car chief for Martin Truex Jr. The team earned 17 victories, 56 top-five finishes, 91 top-10s, 12 pole positions, and three Championship 4 places. He was a key member of Furniture Row's 2017 championship crew, which won eight races and led 2,253 laps.
Blake Harris returned to North Carolina in 2019 to work as the car chief for the No. 19 team at Joe Gibbs Racing. He was a member of 12 victories and two Championship 4 berths over the next three seasons. He assumed the position of crew chief with Front Row Motorsports ahead of the 2022 season.
Blake Harris guided McDowell to two top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes, and an average finish position of 16.7 in his first season as a crew chief. All of these were personal bests for the 15-year Cup Series.
Alex Bowman and Blake Harris appear to be formidable for the 2023 season
Alex Bowman missed the final five races of the 2022 season due to enduring concussion-like symptoms from a collision at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition, Bowman's long-time crew chief, Greg Ives, was due to retire at the end of the 2022 season.
Bowman is a fantastic race car driver and Harris has established himself as one of the series' up-and-coming crew chiefs. The latter had a stellar debut season in 2022 as Michael McDowell's crew chief at Front Row Motorsports. It still typically takes some time to develop chemistry between a driver and crew chief.
With Harris' efforts, he arrived at Daytona International Speedway in the lightning-quick No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro. The cars were so quick that Kyle Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Bowman won the pole position in The Great American Race by over two-tenths of a second. It was an amazing lap, and the car itself was much more impressive.
