Blake Harris returns to the racetrack in 2024 embarking on his second year as the crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, paired with driver Alex Bowman. Overall, this is his third year as a crew chief atop a pit box in the NASCAR Cup series.
During their inaugural season together, Harris and Bowman wasted no time developing a strong working relationship. They started the 2023 season off out front, earning the pole position for the DAYTONA 500. Harris guided Bowman to his record sixth consecutive front-row start for "The Great American Race" and a fifth-place finish, marking the first top-five finish for the pole sitter in this prestigious race in 21 years. Harris guided the team to four straight top-10 finishes to start the season, including a third-place run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ahead of the 11th race of the season, Harris' driver suffered a back injury and Josh Berry would fill in for the next three races and the All-Star Race. Harris and Berry won the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway to earn the No. 48 team a spot in the All-Star Race. Bowman returned to the No. 48 seat for the Coca-Cola 600 and the Ally Racing team went on to finish the season 20th in the driver point standings. All-in-all in 2023, Harris tallied one pole position, three top-five finishes and eight top-10s atop the pit box.
A native of Maypearl, Texas, Harris started his racing career behind the wheel of a dirt go-kart at 11 years old. Moving into stock cars at just 14 years old, Harris rebuilt his first car several times over before making his dirt stock car debut at 15 years old. At the end of his dirt stock car season, Harris moved into asphalt trucks in a touring series in his home state. Harris spent two seasons in the touring series before moving to North Carolina to pursue a career in NASCAR. At just 18 years old, he joined Evernham Motorsports (later Richard Petty Motorsports) in 2006, working in both the engine and chassis departments.
In 2010, Harris moved to Colorado to join Furniture Row Racing where he became the car chief for Kurt Busch in his 2013 season. That year, Harris and the team tallied 11 top-five results, 16 top-10s, a pole position and the organization’s first spot in the playoffs. Harris also was the car chief for Martin Truex Jr. from 2014 to 2018 where the team garnered 17 wins, 56 top-five finishes, 91 top-10s, 12 pole positions and three Championship 4 appearances. He was an integral part of Furniture Row’s 2017 championship season when the No. 78 team won eight races and led 2,253 laps.
In 2019, Harris followed Truex back to North Carolina to Joe Gibbs Racing where he served as the car chief for the No. 19 team. Over the next three seasons, he was a part of 12 wins and two Championship 4 appearances. Ahead of the 2022 season, he joined Front Row Motorsports as the crew chief of the No. 34 team. In his only season with McDowell, Harris led his driver to 11 top-10s and an average finish position of 15.8. In October 2022, Harris was named the crew chief for the Rick Hendrick-owned No. 48 team, making him the newest shot caller at the organization.
Harris currently resides in Denver, North Carolina, with his wife Kaitlyn and his two children, Kadence and Dawson. When Harris is not at the racetrack, he enjoys spending time with his family, going to his mountain cabin, hiking, and working on his shock company.
