Trent Owens

American racing driver and crew chief

Trent T. Owens (born January 4, 1975) is an American stock car racing driver and crew chief who works for Kaulig Racing as the crew chief for their No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the NASCAR Cup Series, driven by Daniel Hemric. He was previously a driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the ARCA Bondo/Mar Hyde Series. He is also the nephew of seven time Cup Series champion Richard Petty. Owens previously crew chiefed for Petty's team as well as JTG Daugherty Racing, Braun Racing/Turner Motorsports/Turner Scott Motorsports and Bobby Gerhart Racing.

Owens started his career while still in high school, working for Petty Enterprises, owned by his uncle Richard. He also worked at the Richard Petty Driving Experience. In 2000, Owens attempted to qualify for the season finale for the ARCA Bondo/Mar Hyde Series at Atlanta in a No. 37 car owned by crew chief Barry Dodson, but he failed to qualify. He would not attempt to make any other ARCA starts. Owens made his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2001, driving the No. 49 Ford at Pikes Peak. He started 32nd, but managed a good day, finishing 19th. He then topped that run with an 18th at Texas before finishing 34th at Kansas. He then switched rides, competing in three events for Ware Racing Enterprises. His best run was a 19th, coming in the season finale at California. In 2002, Owens became the driver of the No. 15 Ford for Countryman Ballew Racing. He failed to qualify for the season opener at Daytona. In the rest of the races he ran for the team (the next six races), he scored top 20s in all but one of his starts. His best finish of the year was a 14th at Pikes Peak (where he had his best career start of 12th), but he also had a pair of 15ths at Darlington and Dover. After the race at Texas, Owens was released due to funding issues. He was without a ride for the rest of the season. Owens was released from his contract at Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the 2016 season. He was then hired to crew chief JTG Daugherty Racing's new second car, the No. 37, driven by Chris Buescher, in 2017. In 2020, Buescher left for Roush Fenway Racing and he was replaced by Ryan Preece (previously the driver of JTGD's No. 47 car), and Owens remained the crew chief of the No. 37 car. Prior to the 2020 Auto Club 400 at Fontana, Owens was suspended after the car was discovered to have an illegal modification during pre race inspection. The team was also docked 10 owner and driver points. When the No. 37 car was closed down after the 2021 season, Owens lost his job with JTGD and moved to Kaulig Racing to crew chief their new No. 31 car in the Cup Series, driven by Justin Haley, who is the nephew of Todd Braun, the owner of Braun Racing, who Owens used to crew chief for. On February 23, 2022, Owens was suspended for four races after the No. 31 lost a wheel during the 2022 Daytona 500. On May 17, Owens was once again suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss during the 2022 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas.

Owens is married and has two children. He is the nephew of Richard Petty. His father Randy Owens, the brother of Petty's late wife Lynda, was a member of Petty's pit crew at age 19 and killed during a pit road accident when a water tank caught on fire during the 1975 Winston 500. Trent was four months old at the time.

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pts Ref 2001 Covenant Racing Team 49 Ford DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX 49th 525 Ware Racing Enterprises 81 Chevy LVS PHO CAL 2002 Billy Ballew Motorsports 15 Ford DAY DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA MCH IRP NSH RCH TEX SBO LVS CAL PHO HOM 34th 657

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Bondo/Mar Hyde Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Ref 2000 Dodson Motorsports 37 Info not available DAY SLM AND CLT KIL FRS MCH POC TOL KEN BLN POC WIN ISF KEN DSF SLM CLT TAL ATL N/A 0