View source for Chad Walter

{{short description|NASCAR crew chief}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Chad Walter
| image = 
| imagesize = <!--Only for images narrower than 220 pixels.-->
| caption = 
| fullname = Charles David Walter
| nickname = 
| residence = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|6|10}}
| birth_place = [[Albion (town), New York|Albion, New York]], U.S.
| country = [[United States]]
| sport = [[NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series]]
| team = 77. [[Spire Motorsports]]
}}
'''Charles David Walter''' (born June 10, 1971) is an American NASCAR [[Crew chief (auto racing)|crew chief]] who works for [[Spire Motorsports]] as the crew chief of their No. 77 [[Chevrolet Silverado]] in the [[NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series]] driven by [[Andrés Pérez de Lara]].

==Racing career==
===2005–2008: Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports===
Walter landed his first crew chiefing job in [[2005 NASCAR Busch Series|2005]], calling the shots for [[Hendrick Motorsports]]' No. 5 Busch Series team with drivers [[Kyle Busch]], [[Jimmie Johnson]], [[Adrián Fernández]], [[Kyle Krisiloff]], and [[Justin Labonte]] in 2005 and [[2006 NASCAR Busch Series|2006]]. He had previously worked as an engineer for Hendrick as well as [[Dale Earnhardt, Inc.]]

Walter was the crew chief for the No. 24 [[Hendrick Motorsports]] Chevrolet in the Busch Series in 2007, working with drivers [[Casey Mears]] and [[Landon Cassill]]. In 2008, when Hendrick's Nationwide team merged into [[JR Motorsports]], Walter moved to JRM. Since the No. 24 team was shut down as part of the merger, he became crew chief of the No. 5 car, replacing Mike Bumgarner, who remained with Hendrick.

In late February 2008, he was suspended for six races for having an illegal rear spoiler in the opening inspection on [[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]]'s racecar. He was fined $25,000 and placed on probation until December 31, 2008. He resigned from [[JR Motorsports]] in July 2008 before the race at [[Indianapolis Raceway Park|IRP]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/022408/pro_250420976.shtml| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713063404/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/022408/pro_250420976.shtml| url-status=dead| archive-date=July 13, 2012| title=Unknown}} </ref>

===2009–2012: Penske Racing===
After not working for any team for the remainder of 2008, he joined [[NASCAR operations of Team Penske|Penske Racing]]'s No. 12 Nationwide Series team as the crew chief for rookie [[Justin Allgaier]] for the [[2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series|2009 season]]. They did not win any races that year, but they finished sixth in points. The duo remained together in [[2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series|2010]], and they did score their first win at the spring [[Bristol Motor Speedway|Bristol]] race. Allgaier finished fourth in points and was the highest finishing Nationwide Series regular in the standings.

Due to sponsor [[Verizon Wireless|Verizon]] leaving NASCAR after 2010, the No. 12 team could not find enough sponsorship, and Allgaier left for [[Turner Motorsports (NASCAR)|Turner Motorsports]] for [[2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series|2011]]. However, Walter remained with Penske and continued to crew chief the same car when it was fielded part-time for [[Sam Hornish Jr.]] Hornish would run twelve races that year, picking up one win at [[ISM Raceway|Phoenix]] towards the end of the season. Additional sponsorship was found after they scored that win, which enabled the team to go back to full-time in [[2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series|2012]]. Despite finishing fourth in the standings, Hornish went winless.

===2013–2019: Michael Waltrip Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing, Richard Childress Racing & DGR-Crosley===
Walter left for [[Michael Waltrip Racing]] in 2013 to work as an engineer. He returned to crew chiefing when MWR fielded a third part-time car, the No. 66, for owner [[Michael Waltrip]], [[Brett Moffitt]], and [[Jeff Burton]], who joined MWR from [[Richard Childress Racing]] after semi-retiring.

When MWR closed down after [[2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series|2015]], Walter was picked up by [[Tommy Baldwin Racing]] to work on their No. 7 car as the head of engineering.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/tommy-baldwin-racing-restructure-alex-bowman-silly-season-sprint-cup-series-2016-preview-122115 |title=Tommy Baldwin Racing restructures with an eye toward improvement |website=[[Fox Sports (United States)|Fox Sports]] |date=December 21, 2015 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}}</ref> However, TBR would also go on to close down (after [[2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series|2016]]), leaving him without a job again.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Walter joined [[Richard Childress Racing]] as an engineer in 2017, where according to Racing-Reference, he also served for one race at [[Talladega Superspeedway|Talladega]] as the interim crew chief for [[Daniel Hemric]]'s No. 21 Xfinity Series team. After one year with RCR, he moved to [[DGR-Crosley]] starting in 2018, where he also served as an engineer.

Before the 2019 season, Walter was supposed to be the car chief for [[Ty Gibbs]]' No. 17 team in the [[ARCA Menards Series East|K&N East Series]] for DGR-Crosley, but ahead of the season, he was given another hefty suspension, this time for illegally testing in January of that year. His L-6 suspension was originally indefinitely,<ref>{{cite web |first=Shane |last=Walters |url=https://racingnews.co/2019/01/31/ty-gibbs-handed-nascar-penalty-ahead-of-season-opener/ |title=Ty Gibbs handed NASCAR penalty ahead of season opener |website=Racing News |date=January 31, 2019 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}}</ref> but the team appealed and the suspension was reduced.<ref>{{cite web |first=Shane |last=Walters |url=https://racingnews.co/2019/02/21/ty-gibbs-penalty-upheld-with-modifications/ |title=Ty Gibbs penalty upheld with modifications |date=February 21, 2019 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}}</ref> It is unclear when exactly he was reinstated by NASCAR, but after returning, he served as the engineer for [[Tyler Ankrum]]'s No. 17 team in the Truck Series.<ref name="WalterGMS">{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=McFadin |url=https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2019/12/13/nascar-gms-racing-reveals-driver-crew-chief-lineup-number-assignments/ |title=GMS Racing reveals full-time driver-crew chief lineup, number assignments |website=[[NBC Sports]] |date=December 13, 2019}}</ref>

===2020–2023: GMS Racing and Our Motorsports===
Walter returned to crew chiefing in 2020, leaving DGR-Crosley to join [[GMS Racing]] to work on their new No. 26 truck, driven by Ankrum after he also left DGR.<ref name="WalterGMS"/> In 2021, GMS switched Walter and their No. 24 crew chief Charles Denike, with Walter becoming the crew chief of the No. 24, now driven by [[Raphaël Lessard]], and Denike becoming the crew chief for the No. 26 of Ankrum.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jayski.com/2021/01/08/gms-racing-announces-2021-crew-chief-lineup/ |title=GMS Racing announces 2021 crew chief lineup |website=[[Jayski's Silly Season Site]] |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC |date=January 8, 2021}}</ref>

He left GMS to be the crew chief for [[Our Motorsports]]' new No. 27 car in the Xfinity Series in 2022, driven by [[Jeb Burton]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Joseph |last=Srigley |url=https://tobychristie.com/2021/12/16/our-motorsports-fielding-three-xfinity-series-entries-in-2022-for-brett-moffitt-jeb-burton-and-anthony-alfredo/ |title=Our Motorsports Fielding Three Xfinity Series Entries in 2022 for Brett Moffitt, Jeb Burton and Anthony Alfredo |website=TobyChristie.com |date=December 16, 2021 |access-date=December 17, 2021}}</ref>

Walter returned to GMS Racing in 2023 to be the crew chief for [[Rajah Caruth]] in the No. 24 truck.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 6, 2022 |title=GMS Racing sets crew chief lineup for 2023 season |url=https://www.jayski.com/2022/12/06/gms-racing-sets-crew-chief-lineup-for-2023-season/ |access-date=December 6, 2022 |website=Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site}}</ref>

===2024–present: Spire Motorsports===
GMS closed down after the 2023 season and Caruth and Walter moved to [[Spire Motorsports]] in 2024 to drive and crew chief the team's new No. 71 truck, respectively. They won their first race together at [[Las Vegas Motor Speedway|Las Vegas]] [[2024 Victoria's Voice Foundation 200|in March]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Joseph |last=Srigley |url=https://tobychristie.com/2024/02/07/rajah-caruth-to-pilot-third-spire-motorsports-truck-no-71-full-time-in-2024/ |title=Rajah Caruth to Pilot Third Spire Motorsports Truck, No. 71, Full-Time in 2024 |website=TobyChristie.com |date=February 7, 2024 |access-date=January 24, 2025}}</ref> In 2025, Spire moved Walter from Caruth's No. 71 truck to their No. 77 truck, driven by rookie [[Andrés Pérez de Lara]], the [[2024 ARCA Menards Series|defending ARCA Menards Series champion]]. He replaced Jason Trinchere as crew chief of the No. 77 truck, who left to crew chief for [[Haas Factory Team]] on their No. 41 car driven by [[Sam Mayer]] in the Xfinity Series.<ref>{{cite web |first=Joseph |last=Srigley |url=https://tobychristie.com/nascar/truck-series/andres-perez-de-lara-to-run-spire-no-77-truck-in-2025/ |title=Andres Perez De Lara to Run Spire No. 77 Truck in 2025 |website=TobyChristie.com |date=January 23, 2025 |access-date=January 24, 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Walter attended [[Cornell University]] where he joined the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers' race car design team. His design team won the national championship twice, enhancing his love for racing. He is married to Sherry Walter.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Racing-Reference crewchief|Chad_Walter}}

{{Spire Motorsports}}
{{Our Motorsports}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Chad}}
[[Category:NASCAR crew chiefs]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1971 births]]