Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role

Motorsport photoMcAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) has revealed its crew chief lineup for the 2027 NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series, which includes a notable name from the Cup garage.Matt Barndt, who was the car chief for Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Cup, joins MHR as crew chief for Christian Eckes and the No. 91 team. Both organizations are connected through their shared sponsorship of NAPA Auto Parts.Kevin Bellicourt, who was the crew chief for Daniel Hemric and the No. 19 entry, will transition into a General Manager role and be replaced by Darren Fraley, who moves over from the No. 81 MHR entry.Edward “Dewey” Townsend was working with MHR’s part-time No. 20 entry, but he will now be the crew chief for the newly signed Nick Sanchez and the No. 18 team. Mark Hillman will take a Operations Manager role for MHR, while Stephen Poswiatowski moves from Hemric's No. 19 to assume the Lead Engineer position.“We have high expectations of ourselves, to win races and compete for championships”, team owner Bill McAnally said. “Having Kevin [Bellicourt], Matt {Barndt], Darren [Fraley], and Dewey [Townsend] put us in the right spot to build on how strong we ended the season and will prepare us to come out of the box even better in February. We’re confident in the direction we’re going and excited about how we’re developing for 2027.”MHR went winless in 2026, but finished as high as fifth in the final standings with Eckes, who earned four runner-up finishes in the final six races of the year.To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.