Entering the 2025 NASCAR Cup Playoffs, Trackhouse Racing is making a very rare change to its pit crew roster. It’s newsworthy because Ross Chastain’s pit crew has been essentially unchanged since he first started racing for Trackhouse in 2022, bringing his Chip Ganassi Racing team with him.
However, as the championship playoffs get underway, the team has made a decisive change. Josh Appleby, who was the jackman for the No. 99 Trackhouse Chevrolet with Daniel Suarez, is now on the No. 1 with Chastain. The No. 99 has consistently been the best of the three Trackhouse entries on pit road, and as pointed out by Motorsport.com contributor Bozi Tatarevic, Appleby is the No. 1 ranked jackman at the moment.
Suarez did not make the Playoffs, coming one spot short of winning last weekend at Daytona, so the team is moving its strongest assets to a car with a potential shot at the title.
Shane Wilson, who was working as the jackman for Chastain’s No. 1 team, has been moved over to Suarez and the No. 99, swapping places with Appleby. Wilson has been with Chastain since he drove the No. 42 for Ganassi in 2021, and he was with CGR for several years prior to that.
Trackhouse making changes
Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images
While swapping pit crew members around is a common practice in NASCAR, it’s something rarely seen at Trackhouse. This follows other recent changes within the team as they try to step up the performance of their cars.
The team recently parted ways with competition director Tony Lunders, and Gary Putman is no longer the director of shop floor operations.
Todd Meredith, a former Joe Gibbs Racing executive who joined the team in July as the president of racing operations, has essentially taken over Lunders’ role.
Trackhouse is enjoying its winningest season yet in the Cup Series, mostly due to rookie Shane van Gisbergen’s road course domination. Chastain also managed to snag a crown jewel by winning the Coca Cola 600, but other than that, the stats for the flagship No. 1 team are off from previous years.
Chastain has just three top fives, and he has also publicly noted the lack of speed the team has most weekends when they unload for practice and qualifying. Chastain has started 25th or worse in 13 of 26 races run so far, and Suarez’s qualifying performances are similar.
All three Trackhouse drivers have an average starting position of 22nd or worse, and the average finish for both Chastain and Suarez is the worst it’s ever been since either joined the team. Suarez will also exit Trackhouse at the end of the year after five years, and 19-year-old Connor Zilisch will replace him.
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