Ross Chastain has four career NASCAR Cup Series victories, all of which came in the previous two seasons with Trackhouse Racing. In the previous two campaigns, the No. 1 driver had already won a race by this time in the season, which marked halfway.
Through 2024, the watermelon farmer’s overall numbers are down from 2022 and 2023 (in both top 5s and top 10s), and he has yet to visit Victory Lane. Before the June 23 race in New Hampshire, the driver was asked to grade the first half of his season, and he was forthright in his evaluation.
“My god. “I am really bad at this,” Chastain said. “I have a tendency to downgrade myself. I’d give myself a C-minus, maybe. However, B is the team’s total grade. Yes, things have improved somewhat recently.
“It might have been in the Cs two weeks ago, but we’ve gotten the 99 and the 1 vehicle to be equivalent in speed, which is the most important thing, and then we can move on from there. But we had to at least get to the point where Daniel (Suarez) and I could see each other on the track. Because this was not the case for a time. So, overall, I’d rate ourselves a B.”
Ross Chastain admits that dreams have come true.
Ross Chastain differs from many other Cup drivers. He is not from a racing background. As has been well documented, his family has a history of growing watermelons. Now 31, he was asked what he would tell his 10-year-old self about racing and life.
“Ten-year-old Ross had no idea racing was even an option,” he told me. “I had never raced at all. I was 12 years old, almost 13, when I took my first circuits around a racetrack. So, as a 12-year-old, I would start by saying, “All of your dreams will come true.” They were simply dreams.
“There were no plans. We didn’t have any notion how to make this happen. But I put racing ahead of everything else, and so did my family. Everything has been worked out.”
Chastain Discusses Pairing Family Business With Racing
While it’s all worked out and racing is Chastain’s first priority now, his love for his family’s company is still visible in much of what he does at the track, such as breaking watermelons after each victory. He admitted that he had made it a point to blend the two.
“Well, it’s the exact reason you’re looking at a very bright orange fire suit that I’ve got on with Kubota,” he informed us. “My dad and I wanted Trackhouse to find us a tractor sponsor. We wanted to take ag wherever we went. And, obviously, watermelons are the major point of that, but Kubota is here because we are farmers.
“Because we’re farmers, my automobile has a Busch Light. And I can’t trade that. I’d never exchange that. However, agriculture has not always been the best profession or lifestyle choice. But it’s worked out very well for some of us, and being a small part of the population that feeds the rest of the world is quite exciting.
“It’s scary at times, but it’s all I know. So, I know much more about agriculture than I do about racing. I’ve built a career out of racing, but when I was a kid, I wanted to be an agriculturalist, just like my father, grandfather, and everyone else. And, yes, it is the most natural thing I can talk about.”
Ross Chastain Has Plans to End His NASCAR Career.
Chastain stated that all of his fantasies had come true. He is having a great time right now, racing cars on Sundays and competing. How long does he want his dream to last?
“My goal is to be in the current spot, like in a competitive Cup car for 20 years,” stated the driver. “That was my goal once I joined the Xfinity Series.” I figured if I ever got to Cup, I’d want to stay there for 20 years. So we’re on year four of that. “We will see what happens.”
If he races in the Cup for another 16 years, he will be 47 when he retires. It is undeniably ambitious, but it is also difficult to mistrust someone who has already demonstrated that when he sets his mind to something, he can accomplish it.
Leave a Reply