Eliason appointed crew chief of Legacy Motor Club's No.42 team

Chais Eliason has been promoted to crew chief of Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 NASCAR Cup Series team, beginning with this weekend’s race at Bristol.

Eliason, who has served as strategy manager and senior performance engineer on the No. 42, will lead the team alongside John Hunter Nemechek for the final eight races of the 2026 season and continue as crew chief of the No. 42 team when Josh Berry comes on board for 2027.

"Promoting from within and giving our people the opportunity to grow is central to how we’re building Legacy," said Jimmie Johnson, co-owner of Legacy Motor Club. "Chais has shown throughout this season that he’s ready for this. We’re looking forward to seeing what he and the No. 42 team can accomplish over these final eight races and into 2027."

Eliason brings more than a decade of race engineering and shock development experience to the team. After cutting his teeth on dirt-track cars, he got his first NASCAR opportunity as an intern at Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. During his time at Hendrick he contributed to Jimmie Johnson’s 2016 NASCAR Cup Series championship and Kyle Larson’s 2021 championship season before becoming lead engineer for the No. 48 team. He later held engineering roles with Trackhouse Racing.

“I’m grateful to Legacy for the opportunity to take this next step in my career,” said Eliason. “I’ve learned a lot working with this group throughout the season, and I’m looking forward to putting that experience to work as we finish out 2026 with John Hunter and begin preparing for 2027. We have a strong group of people around this team, and I’m excited to lead them through the remainder of the season.”

Travis Mack will depart as crew chief of the No. 42 team.

“We’re thankful to Travis for his many contributions to Legacy and the No. 42 team,” said Johnson. “He has played a pivotal role in this organization and helping during an important period of growth. We appreciate the foundation for excellence that he has helped build at Legacy and wish him continued success in his next endeavor.”