Bowman, McDowell breaking in new crew chiefs
Athletes are only as good as the team around them, and although race car drivers appear to get most of the glory in motorsports, this sentiment couldn’t be more prevalent in NASCAR.
Whether working for a lesser funded team like Front Row Motorsports or renowned powerhouse like Hendrick Motorsports, the hundreds of people working behind the scenes on a daily basis are what produce speed and prepare drivers for competition.
Leading the charge as the heartbeat of the team is the crew chief: the eyes and ears of the day-to-day operations surrounding the team.
Serving as the motorsports equivalent of a platoon sergeant, this person oversees all technical aspects of the car and its setup, works closely with everyone involved and calls the shots atop the pit box to strategically orchestrate each race.
With the 2023 season officially under way, it’s important to acknowledge the new leaders calling the shots for the pair of drivers representing Arizona in the NASCAR Cup Series: Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell.
Coming off a rough year that found Bowman, 29, sidelined with concussionlike symptoms during a heated playoff
run, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Tucson-born driver between the injury and departure of his crew chief of five years Greg Ives.
As it turns out, a fresh start was just what the doctor ordered. Last month, Bowman was awarded a three-year contract extension, keeping him in the Hendrick No. 48 car through 2028.
Bowman and his team have been one of the fastest in the sport. He began the
year qualifying on the pole for the Daytona 500, and is of one of only two drivers to score top-10 finishes in all three races this season.
All of this is the result of a team-wide effort, but the man responsible for leading the charge is second-year Cup crew chief Blake Harris, who’s been a breath of fresh air for the No. 48 team.
“It’s been a good start for us,” Bowman said. “The team has meshed really well, Blake has been a really good fit and we’ve had fast race cars every week. I wish we had a win already, but being second in points and having a good start to the season is good as well.
“I think having a new perspective has been good. The biggest thing is he’s 100% in on every little detail on everything about our team and our cars — all of it. He’s super dedicated, works super hard and I think that’s the most important thing.”
In addition to his innate attention to detail, Harris believes the most crucial element to his early success with Bowman has been constant communication — specifically on other forms of racing his driver dabbles in.
For Harris, this gives him a better understanding of Bowman’s racing language: how he describes the car, what he’s feeling, what he thinks he needs. All of this on top of being at the shop, in the simulator and going over prep work essentially seven days a week.
“The communication early on has been pretty seamless,” Harris said. “Our only interest outside of racing is racing. Listening through those things, talking about it and really just keeping up with his day-to-day bleeds over into the weekend. There’s less to catch up on, right? You’re already in tune with each other on everything that’s happening and how that’s going.
“I think he’s super calculated with when and how he does things, and that’s fun to watch and learn. As far as a person and a talent, I don’t know that I can ask for any more.”
If Harris’ name sounds familiar, it’s because last year he helped guide McDowell to a career-best season. Now having left FRM for HMS, that left the Glendale-born driver with a new crew chief for 2023 in Travis Peterson.
Peterson spent 10 years in NASCAR as an engineer for some of the best teams in
the sport before landing his first full-time gig as a crew chief for the No. 34 team. This allowed him to work alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry like Chad Knaus and Darian Grubb.
In this time, he adopted tactics and leadership styles to better prepare him for this opportunity.
Recently, Peterson worked for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, which shares a technical alliance with FRM. It was here where he got acquainted with McDowell and took great admiration to his talent and methods of operation.
“I think when you get to this point, you have to decide what driver you want to work with because they’re going to make or break your career, and I think that Michael’s going to be a great guy to work with for hopefully a while,” Peterson said. “(He’s) shown a lot of potential at different times, even when he wasn’t in as equivalent of equipment as we are now, and then especially last year he was able to shine and show his talents.
“Michael’s been really great to work with. He’s not a micromanager; he’s got good feedback; he puts a lot of work in himself and he comes up with his own thoughts on what he needs to do better, and that’s been really great.”
For the new driver-crew chief pairing, communication has been key. Outside of McDowell’s spotter, this is a brand-new team that will take time to develop. Luckily for the 2021 Daytona 500 champion, this has been a common occurrence throughout his 16-year career he’s been able to overcome.
McDowell relishes any time he can get outside of the track with Peterson. Whether they’re hanging out with their wives or talking about racing, he understands the importance of chemistry and enjoys watching the competitive fire grow from his new crew chief.
“I think that Travis has got a lot of experience,” McDowell said. “He’s hungry, he wants to be a crew chief, he wants to win races and he’s got drive and leadership. For him to have that opportunity to be a crew chief, you can tell he’s embracing it and that he’s wanting to make sure that it counts.
“It’s hard to get an opportunity in the Cup Series at the highest level. I think that he recognizes that and he’s done a good job with making sure that he’s doing everything he can to be prepared and to walk into that role. He has the ability, and not just the resume, but he’s got the real experience to do it.”