Joe Gibbs Racing has added a key piece to the No. 54 team of Ty Gibbs. The team has added championship-winning car chief Robert "Cheddar" Smith.
Chris Gabehart detailed the move Wednesday during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He explained that Smith's leadership and experience will bring considerable depth to the team featuring crew chief Tyler Allen.
"It's a great opportunity to get someone with that level of experience, know-how, tenure, and demeanor," Gabehart said.
Smith started this season on the No. 7 team at Spire Motorsports. He worked alongside crew chief Rodney Childers and the Spire mechanics while trying to bring a car to the track that could help Justin Haley contend.
According to the team rosters PDF, Smith's last race as the car chief for Spire Motorsports was last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Before joining Spire, Smith was a car chief at Stewart-Haas Racing for 11 seasons. He worked on the No. 4 team featuring Childers as the crew chief and Kevin Harvick as the driver.
This No. 4 team delivered immediate success for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick and the No. 4 team won five races in 2014, as well as the Cup Series championship. This group then won 32 more races before Harvick retired at the end of the 2023 season.
The No. 4 team only won one title, but the group became the standard of excellence during the final few seasons of the Gen 6 era. They posted top-10 finishes in 28 of the 36 races in 2015 and top two in 16 of these races.
The No. 4 team celebrated eight wins in 2018 and nine wins in 2020. This group reached the Championship 4 five times between 2014-19.
The veteran car chief will now have an important task ahead of him. Smith will join the No. 54 team at Joe Gibbs Racing, which features Allen, a rising crew chief, and Gibbs, a driver in the midst of a slump.
Gibbs has dealt with struggles this season while failing to post a top-10 finish. He has been involved in crashes in two of the first seven races, he has qualified 13th or worse in every race, and he has not led a lap.
Gibbs was en route to his first top-10 finish last weekend at Martinsville Speedway before Tyler Reddick made a mistake and spun the No. 54. Gibbs ultimately finished 13th.
Team owner Joe Gibbs spoke to media members last weekend at Martinsville and said that he is studying the people around the team and looking at those who will guide the No. 54 team out of this slump. Smith, the newest car chief, should be a key part of this process.