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Charlotte, NC – Phil Surgen, a pivotal figure in Ross Chastain’s recent NASCAR Cup Series successes at Trackhouse Racing, has transitioned from his role as crew chief to spearhead the team’s technological advancements as Director of Technology. This strategic move, set in motion approximately a year ago, sees Surgen leveraging his extensive engineering background to drive innovation within the rapidly evolving landscape of motorsports, with a particular focus on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The 2026 season will mark a significant shift for Chastain and the No. 1 Chevrolet team, as a new crew chief is slated to take the helm. This change follows a highly productive five-season tenure under Surgen’s guidance, during which Chastain achieved all six of his NASCAR Cup Series victories. Their partnership culminated in a near championship run in the 2022 season, where they finished as the runner-up in the points standings. The final win together for the duo was the prestigious 2025 Coca-Cola 600, a historic last-to-first triumph achieved after the team worked through the night to repair a backup car following a practice session incident.
Reflecting on his time as a crew chief during a recent podcast appearance on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) podcast, hosted by Jon Cain, Surgen identified the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 victory as the "most gratifying" moment. A proud alumnus of WPI, Surgen graduated in 2004 with a strong foundation in engineering.
In his new capacity as Director of Technology, Surgen will oversee a team of performance engineers, including race engineers and software specialists. The primary objective of this group is to provide comprehensive support to the racing teams, empowering race engineers to enhance the overall performance of the company’s race cars and operations.
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"We kind of set this in motion about a year ago," Surgen explained on the WPI podcast. "Personally, I had a desire to travel less. You know, as a crew chief, I was traveling 38 weekends a year and with a young family, I just felt the need to spend more time at home with the family."
He continued, "So, now I’ve transitioned to director of technology. On the day-to-day, I’ll be looking after a group of performance engineers, which is kind of made up of race engineers, and some software engineer types. The goal of the performance group is to support the teams, the race engineers specifically, and help elevate the performance of the company."
The shift away from the immediate trackside environment presents a new challenge for Surgen, but one he is prepared to embrace. "It’ll be a little bit different not being at the track, and that’ll be something I’ll have to adapt to. But it exists in every element of the company. Everything we do here is very calculated, and very pointed at improving the performance of the cars, improving the performance of the drivers, and the pit crews. Making better strategic calls, and being in a role where I can help facilitate some of the people and the tool development to make faster race cars is what motivates me."
Technology’s relentless march forward is a defining characteristic of modern NASCAR and the broader motorsports industry. Trackhouse Racing, under leadership like Surgen’s, is committed to maintaining a competitive edge through embracing these advancements.
"Technology in NASCAR is developing as fast as it is in the world, so any new technologies that exist in the world, the NASCAR industry is on top of, trying to apply and utilizing immediately. In the 20 years I’ve been doing this, things have changed dramatically. And in a lot of cases, they don’t look anything like they used to today," Surgen observed.
A key area of technological focus for Trackhouse, and one that Surgen will be instrumental in implementing, is the burgeoning field of Artificial Intelligence. The team has been actively investing in data infrastructure to support AI integration for approximately 18 months.
"We’ve been pretty heavily invested in databasing information to integrate with AI agents for, I don’t know, a year and a half now," Surgen revealed. "We have a few programmers that are solely dedicated to that project. We’re at the point where we got the infrastructure built, we got some of the UI, some of the agents built, and we’re starting to be able to get useful information, useful optimization out of the systems. Man, when I think about the power that’ll exist in those systems in about, I don’t know, a year or two — It’s gonna be incredible."
Surgen likens the current stage of AI development at Trackhouse to constructing a house. "Right now, we’ve laid the foundation and the house is mostly built, but we got to trim the house out and put the shingles on the roof. It’s gonna play a pretty major role in NASCAR racing. I think we’re maybe a little ahead of the curve compared to other teams, and we’re just starting to, to reap the benefit of that, but there’s a lot more available for us in the near, near future."
The strategic implementation of AI is anticipated to yield significant benefits across various facets of racing operations. This includes enhancing car performance through sophisticated data analysis and predictive modeling, optimizing driver strategies in real-time, refining pit stop execution, and potentially even aiding in the development of new car designs and aerodynamic solutions. As AI capabilities mature, its influence on race outcomes and team efficiency is expected to grow exponentially, positioning Trackhouse Racing at the forefront of this technological revolution.
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