According to Ross Chastain of Trackhouse, this weekend’s NASCAR Cup race at the Chicago Street Course will provide him with “another crack” at battling his road-course star colleague Shane van Gisbergen.
Van Gisbergen won last year’s rain-soaked inaugural event on Chicago’s streets with an amazing charge to the front in the final stint, setting the fastest lap by 0.85s in Trackhouse’s Project 91 entry and winning by 1.25s over Justin Haley in overtime.
Trackhouse-contracted van Gisbergen is now a full-timer in the second-tier Xfinity Series. He is also competing in a limited Cup Series program with Kaulig Racing and will drive its No. 16 car when NASCAR returns to Chicago this weekend.
Chastain, who has yet to win a Cup race this season but has four career triumphs, finished 22nd last year and has spent time with SVG learning how to enhance his skills on NASCAR’s only street circuit.
“He’s just such a great guy and he’s got little tidbits here and there,” according to Chastain. “He’s a savage on road courses, as seen by his two Xfinity wins this season. He’s very good.
“It’s purposely setting the car where he wanted it to be, and I was attempting to get it between the walls, whereas he was placing it at the wall, maximizing left and right.
“It’s easy to say it, but really hard to do it.”
Chastain has understood that van Gisbergen’s strategy to making the most of his time in the Chevrolet simulator was critical to his success, and he has put more work into that aspect ahead of this year’s race.
“Well, he’s a machine when it comes to preparation,” Chastain explained. “I would say he’s kind of leading the charge for us in the simulator and getting it how he thinks it will be.”However, the streets up there will have changed, and we are all aware that the simulator is only a tool. At the very least, I’ll have something to work from.
“Last year, I’ll be honest, that I didn’t put enough stock in his simulator prep but this year I definitely have.”
When asked what he was most looking forward to in Chicago, Chastain said, “Getting another pass at it, as SVG would say!
“Definitely not the outcome I desired last year. I didn’t feel comfortable, didn’t have much speed, couldn’t pass, and suffered a lot. It felt like a concrete canyon, and the walls were very near to the left and right of the racing line.
“Looking forward to getting another shot and seeing if I can do better.”
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