Dave Rogers, crew chief for the No. 19 Toyota driven by Daniel Suarez, is taking a personal leave for an indefinite period of time, Joe Gibbs Racing announced in a press release Wednesday evening, March 29.
No details were given for the reasons behind Rogers’ departure or a timeframe for when he will return to JGR.
Rogers has been a full time crew chief in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2010. He won a total of 18 races with drivers Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.
Rogers additionally won 20 races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
Scott Graves, who currently serves as crew chief for JGR’s No. 18 Toyota in the XFINITY Series, has been named the new crew chief for the No. 19, marking a reunion with rookie Suarez.
Graves is coming off of back-to-back championships as a crew chief in the XFINITY Series. He won the title in 2015 as crew chief for Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Racing.
Last season, Graves partnered with Suarez and JGR to win the title.
As crew chief for the No. 18 in XFINITY this season, Graves won the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Busch driving.
The move marks a return to the MENCS for Graves, as he was the crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2013, scoring one top five and placing 19th in the point standings.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.