Front Row Motorsports has solidified its roster for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, announcing Grant Hutchens will serve as crew chief of the No. 4 Ford and driver Noah Gragson.
Hutchens, a longtime racing engineer, will be in his first full season as a crew chief at the NASCAR national series level. He replaces Drew Blickensderfer, who was partnered with Gragson for the past two seasons – first with the former Stewart-Haas Racing team and last year under the Front Row banner. Blickensderfer will become competition director for the organization, alongside current technical director Seth Barbour.
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Hutchens was recently named lead race engineer at Wood Brothers Racing in 2024, following previous stints with Team Penske and Richard Childress Racing. He served as crew chief for nine Cup Series races in an interim or fill-in role, with his best finish a second place with Austin Cindric on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2022.
The remainder of Front Row Motorsports’ roster of drivers and crew chiefs will carry over from 2025. Chris Lawson returns for his second season as crew chief of the No. 34 Ford and driver Todd Gilliland, and Ryan Bergenty returns for his fourth year as crew chief of the No. 38 team and his second season alongside Smith.
Front Row also announced that it has hired Jonathan DeHart as head of aerodynamics. He arrives after working at Hendrick Motorsports as director of body production and at General Motors as head of IndyCar operations as head of aero cars.
These roster pairs will be in place when the Cup Series opens its 2026 campaign next month, first with the Cook Out Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 1 (8 p.m. ET), then with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 (2:30 p.m. ET). Both events will be broadcast on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, as well as HBO Max.
Front Row will aim to get their groove back this season after a two-year absence from the Cup Series playoffs. Gilliland was 27th, Smith 28th and Gragson 34th in the final 2025 rankings.
