In the high-octane world of NASCAR, a crew chief is the linchpin that holds the team together, wearing a variety of hats including strategist, motivator, and the tactical genius who converts a driver’s raw speed into victories. Among this elite group, James Small stands out, an Australian prodigy who has ascended from the world of V8 Supercars to the pinnacle of NASCAR, guiding the likes of Martin Truex Jr. to triumph and now spearheading Chase Briscoe’s career resurgence.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, James Small is an outlier in the NASCAR crew chief fraternity. Now 38, Small’s passion for motorsports was inherited from his father, Les Small, a renowned mechanic in the V8 Supercars circuit. As a child, Small was exposed to the NASCAR races at Calder Park Thunderdome, sparking a lifelong obsession that would soon dwarf his interest in Formula 1. Despite beginning his motorsports journey as a racer, financial constraints saw him pivot to a career behind the scenes. Armed with a mechanical engineering degree from Swinburne University, Small transformed his racing dreams into a successful career as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, earning a reputation for his razor-sharp intellect and candid approach.
Small’s journey to NASCAR’s elite ranks was far from easy. He honed his skills in the V8 Supercars, working tirelessly for eight years with Garry Rogers Motorsport and Kelly Racing, engineering victories for Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards alongside a Bathurst 1000 win in 2013 with Ford Performance Racing. His big break came in 2014 when he made the transatlantic move to the U.S., joining Richard Childress Racing as an engineer. After three years, he linked up with Truex and Cole Pearn at Furniture Row Racing. When Pearn exited in 2019, Small was handpicked by Joe Gibbs Racing to be Truex’s crew chief.
The partnership between Small and Truex blossomed, culminating in eight Cup Series wins, including a playoff-sealing victory at Richmond in 2021. Small lauded Truex’s accomplishments, noting that with a few less errors, he could easily be a four-time champion. Their successful partnership came to an end after the 2024 season when Truex, the 2017 champ, retired from full-time racing. Their final race together at Phoenix in 2024 was a bitter pill to swallow, as Truex crashed out early, finishing 34th.
With Truex’s retirement, Small has set his sights on guiding Chase Briscoe to success at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025. Despite a modified spoiler penalty that cost him points and led to Small’s four-race ban, Briscoe has shown promising signs, securing the Daytona 500 pole this year. Small’s experience of dealing with high-stakes situations, coupled with his engineering prowess and adaptability to different drivers, could well be the catalyst for Briscoe’s success.
While Joe Gibbs Racing expects championships, not just top-10 finishes, Small has set a high bar for himself, stating that anything less than seven wins feels like a failure. The NASCAR fraternity and fans alike are eagerly watching to see if Small can replicate his past success with Truex and keep the No. 19 in Victory Lane. It’s a partnership that could dictate the future of the Cup Series and only time will tell if they will reign supreme.
