The JR Motorsports lineup will change ahead of this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The team will swap two of its crew chiefs.
Phillip Bell will move from the No. 9 of Brandon Jones to the No. 8 of Sammy Smith. As a result, Adam Wall will move from the No. 8 of Smith. He will join the No. 9 team and start working with Jones at the mini-superspeedway.
Wall is in the midst of his first season as a crew chief. He took over the No. 8 team this season as Smith moved from Joe Gibbs Racing to JR Motorsports.
Smith, who won a race last season, has thus far fallen short of victory lane. He and the No. 8 team have posted five top-five finishes and 12 top-10s. Their average finish is 15.5. However, Smith has finished 30th or worse five times.
Bell spent last season working with Jason Burdett as his crew chief, but JR Motorsports made a change for the 2024 season and put Bell atop the pit box for the first time.
Issues have plagued the No. 9 team throughout the season. Jones has qualified well and won the pole twice, but he has failed to finish seven races. Two DNFs were due to mechanical issues.
The timing of the move allows both teams to pursue a spot in the playoffs. Three races land on the schedule ahead of the start of the playoffs. Both Jones and Smith are within reach of spots in the 12-driver field.
Smith is 10 points above the cutline. He can still point his way into the playoffs by racing consistently at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International, and Bristol Motor Speedway. Smith just doesn't need any drivers from below the cutline winning races.
Jones, for comparison, is 132 points below the cutline. He can no longer score enough points to put himself in the playoffs. His only path forward at this point is to win a race behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro.