In his third full-time season as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series division, Blake Harris, who currently works atop the pit box of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team piloted by Alex Bowman, is scheduled to achieve a milestone feat. By participating in this weekend’s Cup Playoff event at Martinsville Speedway, Harris will call his 100th event as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Maypearl, Texas, Harris, who grew up as a racer competing in go-karts and stock car touring series before transitioning to a mechanical phase in racing, first worked for Evernham Motorsports in the engine and chassis departments, beginning in 2006. Four years later, he joined forces with Furniture Row Racing and worked his way up to be a car chief. Working with notable competitors that included Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr., Harris was a part of the first Cup Series championship for both Truex and Furniture Row Racing in 2017.
After Furniture Row Racing ceased operations following the 2018 season, Harris followed Truex to Joe Gibbs Racing, where he worked as the car chief for Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry team. A year later, the Texan made his debut as a Cup Series crew chief for Truex at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2020, where he filled in for crew chief James Small after Small was ejected before the event and fined $35,000 due to NASCAR confiscating Truex’s rear spoiler during the event’s pre-race inspection process. During the main event, Truex finished in second place behind teammate Kyle Busch.
In January 2022, Harris was named crew chief for veteran Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang team for the upcoming Cup Series season. Commencing the season with a seventh-place result during the 65th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Harris and McDowell recorded two third-place results (Sonoma Raceway in June and Talladega Superspeedway in October) and seven top-10 results in 32 races. During the season, Harris was fined $100,000 and issued a four-race suspension due to McDowell’s No. 34 team being levied an L2 penalty for violating the body and overall vehicle assembly rules involving modifications of a single source supplied part from Pocono Raceway in July. With the duo missing the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, Harris and McDowell proceeded to settle in 23rd place in the final drivers’ standings.
A month before the 2022 season’s conclusion, Harris transitioned to Hendrick Motorsports to serve as the crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team piloted by Alex Bowman. In their first event together, Harris navigated Bowman to his third Daytona 500 career pole, where Bowman would proceed to finish in fifth place during the main event. Despite notching three consecutive top-nine results over the following three races, Harris would then be suspended for the following four races from late March through early April. The Texan’s suspension was due to Hendrick Motorsports being hit with a severe penalty both in points and fines due to the team’s hood louvers being confiscated from all four entries during the Phoenix weekend. The suspensions also affected Hendrick’s three crew chiefs that included Cliff Daniels, Rudy Fugle and Alan Gustafson.
Despite returning by mid-April and working the following two races with Bowman driving the No. 48 Chevrolet, Harris would then spend the next four races, including the non-points All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, working with Josh Berry as Bowman was recovering from a sprint car accident at West Burlington, Iowa, in late April. During the four-race stretch with Berry, Harris navigated the No. 48 team to a victory in the non-points All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway that enabled them to transfer into the All-Star Race. Despite Bowman returning for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, he and Harris recorded only two top-six runs for the remaining 13 regular-season events on the schedule as they missed the 2023 Cup Playoffs. With two additional top-10 results recorded for the final 10 races on the schedule, Harris and Bowman concluded their first campaign in 20th place in the final drivers’ standings.
Harris and Bowman commenced the 2024 Cup season on a strong note by finishing in second place in the 66th running of the Daytona 500 after being edged by teammate William Byron at the moment of caution on the final lap. They would proceed to record an additional three top-five results and a total of nine top-10 results over their next 18 starts.
Then during the series’ second annual event at the Chicago Street Course, Harris achieved his first Cup Series career victory as a crew chief when Bowman capitalized on a late pit strategy to lead the final eight of 58-shortened laps and muscle away from the field during a late-race countdown to snap an 80-race winless drought and secure a guaranteed spot into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs. After capping off the final six races of the regular-season stretch with an additional top-five run, the duo of Harris and Bowman would achieve respective results of fifth, 18th and ninth throughout the Playoff’s Round of 16 that enabled them to transfer into the Round of 12. They then transferred into the Round of 8 with respective finishes of sixth, 16th and 18th throughout the Round of 12.
Following the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Roval), however, Harris, Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team were disqualified from continuing in the Playoffs as title contenders due to Bowman’s entry being deemed too light and not meeting the minimum weight specifications during the event’s post-race inspection process. Since the Roval, Bowman has achieved two consecutive top-seven results and is currently ranked in ninth place in the driver’s standings with two races remaining of the 2024 season.
Through 99 previous Cup events, Blake Harris has achieved one victory, two poles, 14 top-five results, and 38 top-10 results while working with four different competitors.
Blake Harris is scheduled to call his 100th Cup Series event as a crew chief at Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 3, and air at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
