JTG Daugherty Racing will have a bit of a number swap for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. On Monday, the team announced Ryan Preece will switch from the #47 to the #37 in 2020, with incoming Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking over the #47. Crew chief Trent Owens, who has worked with the #37 since 2017, will remain on the crew, while Brian Pattie joins Stenhouse on the #47.
Stenhouse comes to JTG from Roush Fenway Racing in a pseudo-driver trade. Chris Buescher, who has driven the #37 for the last three seasons, returns to RFR for the 2020 season, replacing Stenhouse in their #17. In 2019, Stenhouse finished twenty-third in points with three top-ten finishes, while Buescher was twentieth with four top tens.
Pattie, who worked as the #17’s crew chief from 2017 to 2019, will reunite with his driver at JTG. Before becoming Stenhouse’s crew chief in 2017, he was with RFR team-mate Greg Biffle in 2016. From 2012 to 2015, Pattie was a member of the Toyota camp with Michael Waltrip Racing, during which he helped Clint Bowyer finish second in the 2012 championship.
“We’re really looking forward to welcoming Brian Pattie to JTG Daugherty Racing,” team owner Tad Geschickter stated. “With Brian’s veteran experience and knowledge at NASCAR’s premier level, we know he is going to be a great asset to the organization and work well with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.”
Preece, who was in his first full-time Cup season in 2019, finished twenty-sixth in the standings with three top tens. After spending much of the year with Tristan Smith as crew chief, Eddie Pardue took over in October.
Prior to joining JTG in 2017, Owens was part of Richard Petty Motorsports with Aric Almirola. With Owens, Almirola won his first Cup race in the rain-shortened 2014 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Trent Owens this upcoming season,” Preece said. “Our teams worked closely together in 2019. It was impressive to see what he’s done with the No. 37 team the last three years. I really want to continue building on that and bringing both cars into the top 15 regularly next year.”
