Chad A. Johnston is an American
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
crew chief. He works for
Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...
and driver
Ryan Preece
Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Preece previously competed in what is now th ...
. Johnston was previously a crew chief in the
NASCAR Cup Series for
Chip Ganassi Racing (the No. 42 of
Kyle Larson
Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champi ...
and later
Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX)
Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
),
Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...
(the No. 14 of
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
), and
Michael Waltrip Racing (the No. 56 of
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
). Johnston was Truex's engineer prior to his promotion by MWR to crew chief midway through the
2011 season.
Racing career
After graduating college at
Indiana State University
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
in 2004, Johnston got a job as an engineer for
Morgan-Dollar Motorsports in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Over the following years, Johnston became the engineer for teams such as
JTG Daugherty Racing
JTG Daugherty Racing (formerly ST Motorsports and JTG Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by former advertising executive Tad Geschickter and his wife Jodi, ...
and
Evernham Motorsports
Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...
.
In 2011, while doing engineer work for
Michael Waltrip Racing, Johnston became the crew chief for the No. 56 team, driven by
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
Over the 19 races they were together, the pair got 1 pole, 2 top-5's, and 5 top-10's.
The following year, in 2012, Johnston became Truex's full-time crew chief. Truex Jr. and Johnston finished off the season with 1 pole, 19 top-10's, and 7 top-5's. They would finish 11th in the point standings after making the Chase.
In 2013, the pair returned to the No. 56 team. Midway through the season at Sonoma, the team won their first race. They would finish of the season with 1 win, 15 top-10's, 7 top-5's.
Johnston moved over to the No. 14 team for
Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...
, driven by
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
. However, midway through the season, Stewart decided not to drive for three races, being replaced by
Regan Smith for the first of those races and
Jeff Burton
Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
for the next two after being involved in the
death of Kevin Ward Jr. Stewart would return to the seat at
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
In 2015, Stewart and Johnston would pair up again. However, this season would prove to be a challenge for Stewart, as he would only be able to get 3 top-10's throughout the season, leading up to a 28th place finish in the points standings.
Johnston would again move teams in 2016, this time moving to the No. 42 team at
Chip Ganassi Racing, driven by Kyle Larson. At
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
in the fall, Kyle Larson would get his first win in the Cup Series. The group would end up finishing the season with 1 win, 14 top-10's, and 9 top-5's leading up to a 9th place in the championship standings.
Larson and Johnston would start off the 2017 season with 5 top 2's, one of them being a win. Larson would win 3 more times throughout the season, finishing 8th in the championship standings after having a lack of consistency in the playoffs.
Johnston would remain as Larson's crew chief in 2018 and 2019. After a winless 2018 season, the two won at
Dover International Speedway
Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...
in the fall. In 2020, Johnston would become the crew chief for
Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX)
Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
after Kyle Larson was suspended for saying a
racial slur
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
during a streamed
iRacing
''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...
event.
Although he did score a second-place finish in the
2020 Brickyard 400
The 2020 Brickyard 400, branded as Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records is a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on July 5, 2020 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is the 27th running of the Brickyar ...
and a tenth place finish in his first race with the team at
Darlington in May, Kenseth's return was largely a disappointment, and Johnston was released as the crew chief of the No. 42 on August 4 and replaced by the team's engineer since 2016, Phil Surgen, starting at the
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
doubleheader.
Surgen also substituted for Johnston in the crew chief role for one race in 2016, also coincidentally at Michigan, where he would lead Larson and the team to a third place finish in that race. Johnston had been suspended due to the lug nut rule.
With one race to go in the
2020 ARCA Menards Series West
The 2020 ARCA Menards Series West was the sixty-seventh season of the ARCA Menards Series West, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR. It began on February 20 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring with the Star Nursery 150, ...
season, Johnston was picked up by
DGR-Crosley
TRICON Garage, formally known as David Gilliland Racing and Team DGR, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East, the ARCA Menards Se ...
to crew chief their No. 17 Ford of Taylor Gray in the season-finale at
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, where Gray would finish third in this race. Johnston stayed on with the team, now just known as David Gilliland Racing, in 2021, crew chiefing Gray in his full season in the
ARCA Menards Series East and part-time schedule in the main
ARCA Menards Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...
. Also, the team announced that Gray would make his
Truck Series debut in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
, driving the No. 17 Ford part-time, and Johnston would also crew chief Gray in that series.
In December 2022, Johnston returned to
Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...
and the
NASCAR Cup Series after it was announced that driver,
Ryan Preece
Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Preece previously competed in what is now th ...
would replace
Cole Custer
Cole Matthew Custer (born January 23, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He previously drove for the team full- ...
in the No. 41 for the 2023 season. Johnston and Preece previously worked together in the Truck Series with
David Gilliland Racing
TRICON Garage, formally known as David Gilliland Racing and Team DGR, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East, the ARCA Menards Se ...
, having won together twice, at
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 400, ...
in 2021 and 2022.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Chad
Living people
NASCAR crew chiefs
Indiana State University alumni
People from Vermillion County, Indiana
Year of birth missing (living people)