“Just down the backstretch, all of the air came out of it at once, “ said Ross Chastain after practice ahead of the Coca-Cola 600. Indeed, Chastain’s Charlotte chances looked deflated. The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet cut a left-rear tire, spun out in Turn 3, and Chastain hit the wall. As a result, the driver was handed the last starting spot for the 2025 Coca-Cola 600. However, Chastain surprised everyone after this chaos. He lived up to his melon roots and beat the race dominator, William Byron.

Ross Chastain delivers a statement victory

This past weekend was all about honoring Army veterans on Memorial Day. NASCAR Cup Series drivers carried relevant paint schemes, with each car honoring one veteran. Ross Chastain’s No. 1 carried the name of US Army Specialist Kevin McCrea. He passed away in June 2020 due to complications related to injuries suffered while McCrea was an Army paratrooper in the 1980s. It has been five years since his passing, but McCrea’s ideals stayed alive through Ross Chastain’s first crown jewel victory, and it was not an easy ride by any means.

The Coca-Cola 600 was essentially William Byron’s playground. He swept three stages and led 283 laps. But when the melon farmer is motivated, nothing can stop him. Ross Chastain skyrocketed from 40th to 2nd over a grueling 600-mile slugfest, battling an unfortunate green flag pit cycle to find himself within touching distance with laps dwindling. The move that made all the difference was Chastain pitting two laps after race leaders William Byron and Denny Hamlin, giving him fresher tires for the final stretch. With five laps to go, Chastain made the winning pass on Byron and resoundingly won the race.

In his post-race interview, Ross Chastain smashed his watermelon onto the Charlotte asphalt in relief. He then recollected how the McCrea family motivated him after the practice crash in 3 words: “Be a sponge.” He continued, “It’s something that their dad told them a lot… I was rattling out there. To drive on that final run in the World 600 and pass two cars that have been way better all night.” Consequently, his last-to-first glory was possible, a feat that ‘The King’ Richard Petty last did in 1973!

Amidst taking enormous bites from his watermelon, he reflected on the race events. While Denny Hamlin and William Byron pitted with 52 laps to go for fuel, Chastain reflected on his decision to stay out, “I went two laps longer with a little bit of confusion. Man, it paid off in the end, these Goodyear Eagles held on longer, they were a little bit fresher. Holy cow, we just won the World 600!” Chastain added, “How I drove the field tonight was just stay in it. I didn’t get too happy when I was passing cars, I didn’t get too sad when I caught that first green-flag cycle on the wrong side of it.”

Clearly, Ross Chastain scripted history at Charlotte this Sunday, winning his first crown jewel race. That is mainly because of a superbly hardworking crew that he had by his side.

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Chastain salutes his team

Well, misfortunes have been plenty for Trackhouse Racing this year. Kiwi speedster Shane Van Gisbergen, who won the 2023 Chicago Street Race on his debut, has been far off from glory, struggling at ovals as we all expected him to. Then, Daniel Suarez has been riding poor finishes for over a year now. Only Ross Chastain has been persistently hounding front-row contenders with 6 top-tens and 2 top-fives already this season. That is because of a diligently working No. 1 team, which left no stone unturned to see Chastain shine.

During practice, Chastain led all drivers in the 10-lap, 15-lap, and 20-lap averages. So even after cutting his tire and clinching a 40th-place starting spot, his team worked hard to retain that practice speed. Ross Chastain reflected on how hard his team worked to churn out a win-worthy backup car. He said, “My team built me another car, and within an hour and a half…we were fine. NASCAR said we bent too much, so we built another one.” 

Then, immediately before the race, the team sweated their brows until the product was convincing enough. Chastain continued, “When I left the shop last night, I went over, sat in this car for the first time. It was about 10 o’clock when I left, they worked till 2:30. They were back at 5:30 this morning…I don’t even know if they slept…to get this thing ready. And that’s the dedication it takes at Trackhouse. There were people there that had their Saturdays off yesterday, and they came in for this Jockey Chevy and the McCrea family.”

Hence, this hard work paid off handsomely as Ross Chastain’s 6th career victory. With a huge boost, this spells enormous possibilities for the Trackhouse Racing team in the 2025 season.