(Statesville, NC) – McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) announced today its full-time crew chief lineup for the 2027 NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series (NFFTS) season, highlighted by several leadership transitions and a new addition to the organization.
Kevin Bellicourt, who has served as crew chief of the No. 19 entry, will transition into a General Manager role with MHR in 2027, effective immediately.
Matt Barndt joins MHR as a new addition to the operation, and will take over crew chief duties for Christian Eckes and the No. 91 team, who finished fifth in the NFFTS championship standings. Barndt joins the organization from Hendrick Motorsports, where he served as car chief of the No. 9 team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Eckes’ previous crew chief, Dave Elenz, will transition to an advisory role within the company.
Darren Fraley shifts from crew chief on the No. 81 team to the No. 19, where he will be paired with Daniel Hemric. In 2025, Fraley began the season working with Hemric as the race engineer on the No. 19 team before earning crew chief roles within the organization.
Edward “Dewey” Townsend will move from MHR’s part-time No. 20 program to the No. 18, where he will serve as crew chief for Nick Sanchez. Townsend is one of the sport’s rising young crew chiefs and has already developed a working relationship with Sanchez, calling seven races together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series early last season, which included a third-place finish at EchoPark Speedway. Sanchez brings an impressive resume to the No. 18, including eight career NFFTS pole awards in 51 starts, championship finishes of sixth in 2023 and fifth in 2024, and an 11th-place finish in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series standings.
Mark Hillman will assume MHR’s Operations Manager role, while Stephen Poswiatowski moves from the No. 19 team to assume the Lead Engineer position, tasked with maximizing General Motors tools across all teams in house.
“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’s new combinations will make their competitive debut in the 2027 NFFTS season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 19th.
