James Small, a native of Melbourne, Australia, has been promoted to crew chief on the #19 Toyota team of Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing, the race team announced Thursday. Small replaces Cole Pearn, who recently announced he was stepping away from the sport.
“This is an incredible opportunity,” Small said. “Having the confidence of Coach [Joe Gibbs, team owner], Martin and everyone at JGR means a lot to me. I moved to the United States six years ago to work in NASCAR, and I wanted to work my way up to become a crew chief. I’m ready for this, and I am excited about working with Martin and the foundation we have in place on the 19 team with the group of guys we have.”
Small was lead engineer on Truex's #19 team in 2019, playing a role in Truex's Cup Series-leading seven wins and second-place finish in the series driver standings. Small came to JGR with Truex between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, upon the closure of Furniture Row Racing.
Small also was on Truex's #78 team at FRR in 2018, and was lead engineer on the #77 Furniture Row team of Erik Jones in 2017. Jones also has since joined Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I know James well and feel very comfortable with him,” Truex said. “I feel like we approach racing very similar. He and Cole have a lot of similarities. It’s a natural fit and I’m really excited about it. I think he’ll do a great job.”
Small's job as crew chief on the #19 team next season is his first regular gig as a crew chief in any of NASCAR's national series, but he served as a fill-in crew chief for Jones in #77. The Jones-Small pairing resulted in a third-place finish at Michigan International Speedway and a 10th at Watkins Glen International.
Jeff Curtis will be lead engineer on the #19 team next season, filling Small's former position.
