Hendrick Motorsports is making a change to the No. 9 pit crew ahead of the trip to North Wilkesboro Speedway.
According to rosters released for All-Star Race weekend, Chase Elliott will have a new rear tire changer on his No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro. Calvin Teague will move to the No. 9 team while Chad Avrit will head to the No. 7 team of Spire Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports provides the pit crews to Spire Motorsports' Cup teams.
This change takes place after a pit road issue disrupted Elliott's pursuit of a win at Kansas Speedway. The 2020 Cup champion was in the lead in the final stage before Brad Keselowski blew a tire and brought out the caution.
Elliott led the field down pit road, but a slow stop led to him exiting in 12th place. He never cracked the top 10 for the rest of the race as teammate Kyle Larson scored the win.
Teague most recently worked as the rear tire changer for Justin Haley's team, but he actually started the season with Larson and the No. 5 pit crew. However, he headed to Haley's No. 7 ahead of the spring race at Darlington. He made the move alongside front changer Blaine Anderson, jackman Brandon Johnson, and tire carrier RJ Barnette.
Avrit, who grew up in El Centro (California), spent the early portion of his life thinking that he would be a math teacher in Southern California. That way, he would have the summers off to enjoy riding dirt bikes.
However, Avrit decided to move into the world of NASCAR after attending the Universal Technical Institute. Avrit moved to North Carolina and got his start with the Red Bull Racing team.
The California native started working with Hendrick Motorsports back when Jeff Gordon was the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet. He celebrated eight wins with the Hall of Famer and crew chief Alan Gustafson.
Once Gordon retired, Avrit continued working with the No. 24 team. He was a member of Elliott's pit crew starting from the time the Georgia native made the full-time move to the Cup Series in 2016.
Avrit remained with Elliott and Gustafson as the No. 24 team became the No. 9 team. This group continued to celebrate success, which included the 2020 Cup Series championship.
Now, however, Avrit will move to Spire Motorsports. He will continue the season with Justin Haley, a driver who continues to seek his first win since a rain-shortened race at Daytona International Speedway in 2019.