Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. He competes full-time in the
NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
driving the No. 1
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
for
Trackhouse Racing Team
Trackhouse Racing is a professional stock car auto racing organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by Trackhouse Entertainment Group, a venture of Justin Marks and Grammy Award-winning rapper Armando Christ ...
. He is the older brother of
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
driver
Chad Chastain
Chad James Chastain (born October 31, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR ...
.
Early career
Chastain started racing at the age of twelve, his interest peaked by his father's hobby racing and other kids his age racing.
His home track was
Punta Gorda Speedway in
Punta Gorda, Florida
, nickname =
, settlement_type = City
, motto =
, image_skyline = Punta Gorda City Hall.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = Punta Gorda City Hall
, image_fla ...
, at age twelve, competing in both
late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
and Fastruck Series events.
Even those races, at tracks like Citrus County Speedway, Auburndale Speedway and DeSoto Speedway, were run on a tight budget, a theme that would carry on to much of Chastain's career in the higher ranks of NASCAR. His short track career saw Chastain scoring over fifty wins in feature events, including the Limited Late Model portion of the 2011 World Series Of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at
New Smyrna Speedway
New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in t ...
, winning three of eight events in the series.
NASCAR
![Ross Chastain at Thunder Valley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Ross_Chastain_at_Thunder_Valley.jpg)
After making the move to Charlotte in mid-2011, Chastain took over the No. 66
Turn One Racing
Turn One Racing (formerly Wyler Racing) was an American NASCAR motor racing team that competed in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was owned by Ohio car dealer Jeff Wyler until 2009 when dri ...
entry in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
after
Justin Marks vacated the seat. His first Truck race, at
Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It ...
, was his first race with live pit stops.
He finished 10th in that event.
["Young driver ready for next step". '']The News-Press
''The News-Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper located in Fort Myers, Florida, serving primarily Lee County, as well as parts of Hendry, Collier, and Charlotte Counties.
The paper publishes several editions of its "Local & State" (metro) s ...
'', Fort Myers, FL. August 6, 2011, page C1 Connections in the watermelon farming industry got Chastain four more races, which were marred by incidents at
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...
and
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
. At
Homestead-Miami Speedway, rain prevented the Turn One team from making the race, so the team bought an
RSS Racing
RSS Racing (also known as Ryan Shane Sieg Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The team is owned by Rod Sieg and Pamela Sieg. The main spons ...
start and park
Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...
entry and ran the full race, finishing two laps down.
It was later announced that Chastain would compete for
Rookie of the Year honors with
SS-Green Light Racing
SS-Green Light Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding the No. 07 Ford primarily for Joe Graf Jr. and the No. 08 for primarily for David Starr. They also have a tech ...
in 2012. Driving the No. 08 truck sponsored by the National Watermelon Association and National Watermelon Promotion Board, he scored a career-best finish of seventh in the second race of the season at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in s ...
. He bested his 7th-place finish with a 3rd-place finish at Bristol in August.
In January 2013, it was announced that Chastain would drive in 15 Camping World Truck Series races in 2013 for
Brad Keselowski Racing
Brad Keselowski Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Started in 2007, it was owned and operated by NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series champion Brad Keselowski. The tea ...
. At
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...
in September, Chastain won his first career Truck Series pole for the
Fan Appreciation 200
The Fan Appreciation 200 was a 200 lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The second race held at Iowa Speedway, it originally shared a name and title sponsor with its sister race, the American Ethanol 2 ...
; he led the most laps in the race, finishing second to
James Buescher
James H. Buescher (born March 26, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the 2012 Truck Series champion.
After parting ways with NTS Motorsports in 2015, Buescher became a real estate agent. He owns and operates his ow ...
as the race underwent a
green-white-checkered finish. Chastain also came close to the win at the penultimate race at Phoenix, finishing second to
Erik Jones
Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That J ...
after leading over 60 laps. Years later, Chastain said that he initially made the move to BKR as an attempt to get in a
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
ride, but that BKR and Penske did not view the situation that way.
2014–2016
Leaving BKR after the 2013 season, Chastain moved to
RBR Enterprises
Ricky Benton Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The team was owned by Ricky Benton and last fielded the No. 92 Ford Fusion ( ...
for a part-time schedule in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
for 2014. Comments before and after the Martinsville race, as well as racing actions during the race, led the team to fire Chastain from the ride.
In May, he announced he would make his debut in the
Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
(now Xfinity Series) at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
, driving the No. 55 for
Viva Motorsports. Chastain later drove for
Hattori Racing Enterprises
Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) is a Japanese-American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Owned by former NASCAR and open-wheel driver Shigeaki Hattori they compete with the No. 1 ...
at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
, replacing
Johnny Sauter
Jonathan Joseph "Johnny" Sauter (born May 1, 1978) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 47 Toyota Tundra for G2G Racing, the No. 13 Tundra for Th ...
. If that opportunity did not arise, Chastain was set to replace another driver that weekend,
John Wes Townley
John Wesley Townley (December 31, 1989 – October 2, 2021) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in NASCAR's Xfinity and Truck Series from 2008 to 2016, winning a race in the latter in 2015.
Townley's father Tony is a ...
in the No. 5
Wauters Motorsports
Wauters Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fielding the No. 5 Toyota Tundra part-time. The team also competes in late models. The team is primarily owned by Wa ...
truck at
Gateway Motorsports Park
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...
. In the race with HRE, Chastain finished twelfth, which was to that point the team's best finish in NASCAR competition. The finish eventually turned into more sporadic appearances with HRE throughout the rest of the season. Chastain also joined the team for a part-time
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...
effort that year.
![01 Ross Chastain 2015 Road America](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/01_Ross_Chastain_2015_Road_America.jpg)
He then joined
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey ...
in 2015, replacing
Jeffrey Earnhardt
Jeffrey Lynn Earnhardt (born June 22, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. He is the son of Kerry Earnhardt, gran ...
. The opportunity emerged after Chastain raced with
TriStar Motorsports
TriStar Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that used to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series primarily during the early to mid 1990s, suspending racing oper ...
at the end of the 2014 season. His car was comparable to the performances of the JDM cars, which led to a deal in the offseason.
Chastain logged four top-tens on the year, ninth in the season-opening
PowerShares QQQ 300
The Daytona 300, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300, is the first race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season, held at Daytona International Speedway. It is held the day before the Daytona 500, and is ...
, tenth at the other Daytona race, tenth at Iowa, and tenth at Darlington, and got into an altercation with
Ryan Reed
Ryan A. Reed (born August 12, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and driver coach who previously competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Reed previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series w ...
after a race at
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
. Reed claimed Chastain made too much contact on late restarts and vowed payback, while Chastain simply brushed the incident off as a difference of opinions in short-track racing.
2017
![Ross Chastain Dover Cup 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Ross_Chastain_Dover_Cup_2017.jpg)
Chastain's 2017 Xfinity season was the best of his career, scoring a top-five at Iowa and two top tens as well as finishing 13th in points, the highest of the non-playoff drivers.
He achieved this after a tight points battle with
J. J. Yeley
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 13 and 66 cars for MBM Motorsports and part-time in ...
for the spot in the last four races of the season. In the second half of the season, Chastain rarely finished outside the top twenty and mainly finished in the mid-teens.
The season was marred by two fights with fellow Xfinity drivers, one with
Jeremy Clements
Jeremy Wayne Clements (born January 16, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the son of Tony Clements, owner of Clements Racing Engines. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 51 Chevrole ...
at Bristol after Clements confronted him and one with
Brendan Gaughan
William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American professional racing driver who has competed in off-road and stock cars. He is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate.
...
at Texas after heated on-track competition. Chastain, Gaughan, and crew members from both teams brawled behind Victory Lane after the night race. A crew member from
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey ...
teammate
Garrett Smithley
Garrett K. Smithley (born April 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro for B. J. McLeod Motorsports. He has also competed in the ARCA ...
was taken to the hospital with a head injury after the fight. Chastain blamed the confrontation on Gaughan, saying the
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
driver attacked him, but also acknowledged that he races hard and does not play favorites. Gaughan initially avoided discussing the incident with reporters but later boasted about the incident on
SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...
and said that he received several text messages from fellow drivers who were happy about the incident. He did admit that he could've handled the situation later but didn't care about it. That opinion was likely influenced by the fact that 2017 was Gaughan's final Xfinity season, as any retaliation would have to happen within the next two races.
In 2017, Chastain joined
Premium Motorsports
Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-time for Brennan Poole, and the No. 27 Cam ...
' No. 15 car for his
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
debut in the
AAA 400 Drive for Autism
The DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware in the spring.
History
The 2020 race was postponed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic and became ...
at Dover, an opportunity he initially resisted after being informed of the opportunity by Xfinity team owner Johnny Davis. he finished 20th. Chastain heard from various sources that his driving style made multiple drivers mad on-track, but Chastain says it doesn't bother him.
He also drove the No. 15 at the
fall Dover race, finishing 38th. Chastain was originally on the entry list to drive the No. 7 car, the second car for Premium Motorsports, at the Cup series season finale at Homestead, but the team withdrew.
2018
In late September 2017, Chastain announced that he would return to
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey ...
for a fourth year, running the entire
2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, as well as hinting at another part-time Cup schedule with
Premium Motorsports
Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-time for Brennan Poole, and the No. 27 Cam ...
. He started off the Xfinity season with a top-ten at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
, and ran his first Cup race of 2018 the week after at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...
. By the Easter off weekend, Chastain had expanded his Cup schedule, which had included every race since Atlanta, to all of the race weekends where the
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
and
NASCAR Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
run at the same track. Chastain also returned to the truck series at Iowa on an off week for the Cup Series and a companion race with the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 50 truck for
Beaver Motorsports
Beaver Motorsports (formerly MAKE Motorsports) is an American drag racing team. The team currently fields a Chevrolet Pro Stock entry in the NHRA. Beaver Motorsports formerly competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truc ...
. He continued to run most of the Cup schedule, running the entirety of the summer schedule save for the
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern S ...
event, where
Justin Marks drove.
Chastain tied his career-best finish Xfinity Series finish at
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...
, avoiding last-lap chaos to bring home another fourth-place finish. At the Xfinity Series race at
Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
, Chastain and
Joey Gase
Joseph Robert Gase (born February 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 35 and 53 Ford Mustang and Toyota Supra for Emerling-Gase Motorsp ...
made contact multiple times on the final lap, eventually leading Gase to spin off track. On pit road after the race, Gase swerved his car toward Chastain with spectators and crew members in the vicinity. The two later had a shouting match and Gase was tackled by one of Chastain's crew members. After a trip to the NASCAR hauler, Gase called Chastain a "golden boy" and threatened to derail Chastain's playoff hopes. Chastain hopped in the Premium Motorsports No. 15 truck for the
World of Westgate 200
The Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts is a 134-lap, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that takes place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The inaugural race was held in 2018.
History
Despite the agreement, Speedway ...
and finished seventh, Premium's best-ever finish across all three NASCAR national series.
![Ross Chastain Dover Xfinity 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Ross_Chastain_Dover_Xfinity_2018.jpg)
On the strength of a summer performance that saw him hold down the final Xfinity Series playoff spot, Chastain and
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
announced a three-race agreement for Chastain to pilot the organization's No. 42 entry for races at
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
,
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
and
Richmond Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
. The races came at the expense of
John Hunter Nemechek
John Hunter Nemechek (born June 11, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe ...
, who could not sell sponsorship for the races. DC Solar was announced as a backer for Chastain's effort.
Chastain had previously met the CEO of DC Solar at
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
in 2018, and plans materialized from there.
For the first race of the trio, Chastain held top-ten spots in both practices, finishing second in first practice. He later claimed the pole over
Christopher Bell, and during the race won the first two stages.
During the third stage, Chastain was battling for the race lead with
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...
with thirty-five laps to go. Through turns one and two of the traditionally one-groove Darlington track, the lapped car of
Chad Finchum
Chad C. Finchum (born September 22, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 13 Toyota Supra for MBM Motorsports. Finchum has also driven several races in ...
took the top-groove racing lane, leaving Harvick and Chastain jostling for positions in the bottom lanes. After clearing Finchum, Harvick slid up into Chastain who then slid up into the wall. On the backstretch, Chastain hooked Harvick's machine into the outside wall, ending Harvick's day.
Harvick later parked in Chastain's pit stall before giving a heated post-race interview calling Chastain "inexperienced" and saying that Chastain will "never get to drive many of them
vents in top-tier cars
Vent or vents may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
*Vent, the cloaca region of an animal
*Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase
Geology
*Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...
again. Chip Ganassi then responded on Twitter, defending Chastain's performance and stating that he "helped himself to many future opportunities"." Chastain, for his part, finished 25th after repairs and called running up front "cool" and also saying "I don't care what Harvick says."
After running a race with JD Motorsports at Indianapolis, Chastain returned to CGR for the
DC Solar 300 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
. He once again performed well throughout the weekend, securing the second-fastest time in final practice and the fifth starting spot for the race. Once again the class of the field, Chastain led all but twenty of the 200 laps in the race and prevailed over
Justin Allgaier
Justin M. Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.
He is the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series champion a ...
for the victory, his first in over 200 starts in NASCAR.
True to his roots, Chastain smashed a watermelon on the track as a final victory celebration.
In a post-race media conference, he admitted to getting emotional in the closing laps of the race due to the gravity of the win. With the win, a playoff berth was wrapped up, the first of his career. Chastain also revealed that he was not being paid to drive the car, something that he claimed was reason for ridicule within the sport. Chastain fell out of the playoffs after the opening round after
Matt Tifft
Matthew Kenneth Tifft (born June 26, 1996) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, and current team owner. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports unt ...
made a late-race rally at
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
, claiming the final spot by three points.
Towards the latter part of the 2018 season, Chastain joined
Niece Motorsports
Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Dean Thompson, No. 42 Chevrolet ...
for some
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
races. Although some were surprised at how well Chastain ran in those races, Chastain instead said that the organization was better than the community gave it credit for.
2019
On October 6, 2018, it was reported that Chastain had agreed to drive the
2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series (also known as the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for sponsorship reasons) was the 71st season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 48th modern-era Cup series season. The seas ...
season with
Premium Motorsports
Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-time for Brennan Poole, and the No. 27 Cam ...
, and a deal with
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
for more Xfinity races was likely. On November 9, 2018, Chastain and CGR announced a full season in the No. 42 Xfinity Series car for 2019. DC Solar, instrumental in Chastain's introduction to the team, remained on as sponsor. However, after DC Solar was raided by the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
on December 18, 2018, the team lost the sponsorship and shut down in January.
![Ross Chastain Homestead 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Ross_Chastain_Homestead_2019.jpg)
In January 2019, Chastain joined
Niece Motorsports
Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Dean Thompson, No. 42 Chevrolet ...
to drive the No. 45 Silverado part-time in the Truck Series, splitting the truck with
Reid Wilson. On January 31, Chastain announced he would return to the No. 4
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey ...
ride for 30 races, replacing
Blake Koch
Blake Koch (born August 7, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and businessman. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. He is also the founder of FilterTime, a r ...
, who stepped away to focus on business ventures. For the other three races of the schedule – Daytona in February, Chicagoland in June, and Texas in November – Chastain announced he would join
Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrole ...
, driving the organization's No. 10 entry. In his first race with Niece, Chastain began the season with a third-place finish in the
2019 NextEra Energy 250. At his first ever
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, Chastain scored his first career top-ten in the Cup Series despite starting 36th in the
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
.
During the spring, Chastain broke the all-time NASCAR record for most consecutive races run across all three national series to start a season, surpassing the mark of 22 set by
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
set in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
On May 10, 2019, Chastain won his first career
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of t ...
race in the
2019 Digital Ally 250 at
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
. He nearly spun out with 20 laps to go but saved the truck, later inheriting the lead from
Stewart Friesen after he ran out of fuel. In June, he announced his intention to switch to Truck Series points to compete for a championship in the series.
In June's
M&M's 200
The M&M's 200 presented by Casey's General Stores was a 200-lap NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The race ran from 2009 to 2019 before being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and re ...
at Iowa, Chastain led 141 of 200 laps and swept the stages to score the win, but his truck failed post-race inspection and his victory was forfeited to
Brett Moffitt
Brett B. Moffitt (born August 7, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 25 Ford Mustang for AM Racing.
He won Rookie of the Year Honors in 2015 in the NASCAR ...
under NASCAR's newly-introduced disqualification policy. Chastain was the first driver to have a win revoked since
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champio ...
was disqualified from a Busch Series race in 1995, relegated to last in the official standings. Chastain's team appealed the penalty, though it was eventually upheld after a hearing with National Motorsports Appeals panelist Bryan Moss. He earned redemption the following week in
Gateway's
CarShield 200
The Toyota 200 presented by CK Power is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (formerly Gateway Motorsports Park). The race has been held each year since 1998 except for 2011, 2012 and 2013. The t ...
, however, leading 21 laps and scoring the victory after taking only fuel and no tires on his final pit stop.
Chastain won the
2019 Circle K Firecracker 250
The 2019 Circle K Firecracker 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on July 5, 2019, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 100 laps on the superspeedway, it was the 16th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity ...
at
Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
driving the No. 16 Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Chastain's teammates
Justin Haley and
A. J. Allmendinger
Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.
Allmendinger's professi ...
finished behind him, though Allmendinger was subsequently disqualified for failing post-race inspection. Chastain would later win at
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
in the Truck Series in commanding fashion, dedicating his win to Kaulig crew chief
Nick Harrison, who had died the previous week. In Xfinity Series competition at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
, Chastain sent
Justin Allgaier
Justin M. Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.
He is the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series champion a ...
spinning off the track in the bus stop portion of the circuit; Allgaier, thinking the move was intentional, wrecked Chastain in the same section of the track later in the race, relegating Chastain to a 34th-place finish. Chastain chalked his side of the incidents up to mistakes while Allgaier cited instances of Daytona earlier in 2018 and Las Vegas in 2018 as further dirty racing by Chastain. Once Chastain's berth in the Truck Series playoffs was secure, CarShield announced full sponsorship of his playoff efforts.
Chastain would earn his second top-five of 2019 when he finished second to
Christopher Bell at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
in November, leading 29 laps.
2020
![Ross Chastain Kaulig Racing 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Ross_Chastain_Kaulig_Racing_2020.jpg)
On October 15, 2019, it was announced that Chastain would be driving for Kaulig Racing full-time in the
2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chastain also returned to the Cup Series at the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
, driving the No. 77 in a partnership between Chip Ganassi Racing and
Spire Motorsports
Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 7 for Cor ...
. He also retained his ride with
Niece Motorsports
Niece Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by Al Niece, it currently fields No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado full-time for Dean Thompson, No. 42 Chevrolet ...
in the Truck Series in a part-time capacity, moving over to the organization's No. 44 entry and sharing the ride with
Carson Hocevar
Carson S. Hocevar (born January 28, 2003) is an American professional dirt track and stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports. He has also co ...
and
Natalie Decker
Natalie Marie Decker (born June 25, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Supra for Reaume Brothers Racing, the No. 28 Ford Mustang for RSS Ra ...
.
Chastain failed to qualify for the Xfinity season opener at Daytona after mechanical issues plagued his car. However, Kaulig and
RSS Racing
RSS Racing (also known as Ryan Shane Sieg Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The team is owned by Rod Sieg and Pamela Sieg. The main spons ...
forged an agreement that RSS driver
Jeff Green surrender his No. 38 car to Chastain for the race. In the Daytona 500, Chastain was involved in a late wreck with
Ryan Preece
Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Preece previously competed in what is now th ...
that took him out of the race.
On February 19, 2020,
Roush Fenway Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Politics
*Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana
*J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of:
** J. Edward Roush Lake, a rese ...
announced Chastain would replace an injured
Ryan Newman in the team's No. 6 Ford starting with the
Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas. Chastain drove the No. 6 for three races before the season was put on hold due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Newman returned to the No. 6 when the season resumed while Chastain returned to Spire Motorsports part-time.
On September 21, 2020, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Chastain would replace
Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX)
Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
in the No. 42 Chevrolet in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
.
He finished a career-high 7th in the Xfinity standings with 27 top tens (the most of any driver that season) and 15 top fives (including five runner-up finishes), despite not winning a race.
2021
![Ross Chastain 42 Sonoma 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Ross_Chastain_42_Sonoma_2021.jpg)
Chastain's Cup tenure with Ganassi began with a seventh-place finish in the
2021 Daytona 500, his best Cup finish up to that point. During the race's rain delay, he became the subject of a viral video from CGR in which he ordered food at a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
(a team sponsor)
drive-through
A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...
for the team.
In March, Chastain rejoined Niece for the Truck race at Atlanta. In May, he reunited with SS-Green Light Racing to drive their No. 07 car in the Xfinity Series race at
Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...
, replacing its normal driver,
Joe Graf Jr.
Joseph A. Graf Jr. (born July 12, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 07 and 08 Ford Mustangs for SS-Green Light Racing, the No. 38 Mustang for RSS ...
On June 30, 2021,
Justin Marks, co-founder of
Trackhouse Racing Team
Trackhouse Racing is a professional stock car auto racing organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by Trackhouse Entertainment Group, a venture of Justin Marks and Grammy Award-winning rapper Armando Christ ...
announced that he had purchased Chip Ganassi Racing's entire NASCAR operations after the 2021 season, leaving Chastain as a free agent. On August 3, 2021, it was revealed that Chastain would drive the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing's upcoming second Cup team, alongside the No. 99 of
Daniel Suárez
Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza (born January 7, 1992) is a Mexican professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He previously drove in t ...
, in a multi-year deal beginning in 2022.
2022
![Ross Chastain 1 Sonoma 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Ross_Chastain_1_Sonoma_2022.jpg)
Chastain began the
2022 season with a 40th place finish at the
2022 Daytona 500
The 2022 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and the 64th running of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a asphalt superspeedwa ...
and a 29th place finish at
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
. He then rebounded with a third place finish, while leading an at the time, career-high 83 laps at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
and two runner-up finishes at
Phoenix Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
, and at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...
, after recovering a two lap deficit upon crashing in lead position. Chastain scored his first career cup win at the
Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...
battling against
Alex Bowman
Alex Michael Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Seri ...
and
A. J. Allmendinger
Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.
Allmendinger's professi ...
. A month later, he claimed his second victory at
Talladega. At the
2022 NASCAR All-Star Race
The 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race (XXXVIII) was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car exhibition race that was held on May 22, 2022, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 140 laps, extended from 125 laps due to overtime finishes in tw ...
, Chastain finished 22nd after going airborne from colliding with
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
, taking
Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NAS ...
out in the process. At the
Indianapolis road course, Chastain crossed the line second to
Tyler Reddick
Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...
, but was penalized and scored 27th place for crossing the access road during the final restart. He finished third at the
Phoenix finale and a career-best second place in the points standings.
Feud with Denny Hamlin
In June at
Gateway, Chastain began a feud with Hamlin. Early in the race, Chastain ran into Hamlin's back bumper, causing Hamlin to spin and sustain damage to his car. Fifteen laps later, Hamlin attempted to slow Chastain by blocking him at a slower-than-normal rate of speed. NASCAR intervened and told Hamlin that he "had made his point." Later in the same race, Chastain ran into
Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NAS ...
, causing him to spin. At the restart, Elliott pushed Chastain towards the wall while Hamlin made a tight pass to once again express his frustration. Chastain accepted fault for the incidents saying, "I just drove over my head so many times".
Weeks later at
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Chastain spun Hamlin with 14 laps to go. This caused Hamlin, who was running in the top-five, to fall to the back of the pack. Hamlin said that he had "reached his peak" when referring to dealing with Chastain.
"GameCube" wall-ride maneuver / "The Hail Melon"
In October, Chastain qualified for the Championship 4 by a thin margin at
Martinsville, where he, in tenth place on the last lap of the race, drove his car into the outside wall of the track in Turns 3 and 4 to pick up the unprecedented speed of up to , overtaking Hamlin and four other drivers to finish in fifth place. Chastain set a record for the fastest lap during a NASCAR Cup Series race for the track. He was retroactively credited with a fourth-place finish after
Brad Keselowski
Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
was disqualified.
The "wall-riding" move was widely commented upon in the media. Chastain said that the move was inspired by the video game
''NASCAR 2005'' on the
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
. Overtaken rival Hamlin described it as a "great move", adding that "when you have no other choice, it certainly is easy to do that." Although NASCAR ruled the maneuver legal, some race competitors and commentators criticized the move's safety and called on NASCAR to prohibit the move from setting a precedent at future races.
Within days, footage of the move received more than 100 million views on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and other social media.
At Phoenix, Chastain finished third in the Cup Championship race to finish a career-best second in the points standings.
Personal life
A native of
Alva, Florida
Alva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States, situated on the Caloosahatchee River. The population was 2,725 at the 2020 census, up from 2,596 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cap ...
, Chastain was a
watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
farmer on his family's farm until he turned thirteen.
He is a graduate of
Riverdale High School in
Fort Myers
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
.
Chastain attended
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...
for a semester before he began racing in the Truck Series.
While Chastain's father raced as a hobby, Ross is the first generation of his family to race competitively. Ross started racing at age twelve after seeing his father hobby race and seeing other kids his age race.
Ross is the older brother of
Chad Chastain
Chad James Chastain (born October 31, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 41 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR ...
.
Motorsports pundits and fans have come up with a variety of rhyming monikers for Chastain, such as Ross "The
Hoss" and Ross "The Boss."
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Xfinity Series
Camping World Truck Series
K&N Pro Series East
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
Chastain began the 2019 season racing for Xfinity Series points but switched to Truck Series points before the
SpeedyCash.com 400
The SpeedyCash.com 250 is an annual NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held at the Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas. The race is currently held on the same weekend as the IndyCar Series race at the track, the PPG 375 and is a standal ...
at Texas.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chastain, Ross
NASCAR drivers
Racing drivers from Florida
Farmers from Florida
People from Lee County, Florida
1992 births
Living people
RFK Racing drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers