NASCAR: An In-Depth Look At The New Crew Chiefs In The Chase

USA Today Sports

Matt McCall – Crew Chief for Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing

University of North Carolina Charlotte (mechanical engineering) graduate Matt McCall was an accomplished driver himself during his early days in the sport. He won over 150 go-cart events, earning the World Karting Association’s Grand National Champion and Most Improved Driver awards. He finished 21st in his Camping World Truck series debut at Martinsville in 2005 and signed a driver development contract with Yates Racing. In 2006, he finished 2nd at the ARCA/ReMax race at Daytona in February and competed in five races in what was then the Busch series.

McCall joined Richard Childress Racing (RCR) as an engineer in 2007. In 2013, he was named interim crew chief for Jeff Burton for the Brickyard 400, while also exploring one more venture behind the wheel, finishing 22nd in a Truck Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway. He was the race engineer for Ryan Newman’s No. 31 Chevrolet during that team’s 2nd-place finish in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup. He was named by Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) to be Jamie McMurray’s crew chief for the 2015 season in November of 2014.

A lawsuit was filed by RCR that sought to prevent his employment by CGR, stating that his crew chief duties would be “identical or similar to” his race engineer duties at RCR and therefore in violation of the non-compete clause in his contract, which was to have extended through the 2015 season with RCR. The North Carolina Business Court ruled against RCR, and other matters from the suit were subsequently settled by both parties just as Daytona Speedweeks were about to begin in February 2015.

McCall and the No. 1 team earned their chase berth by having the highest point total among non-winners in the first 26 races of the 2015 Sprint Cup season. McCall is also an avid fitness buff and holds a 3rd-degree black belt in Karate.