“The question will always be, how do you beat the Big Three?” Ross Chastain asked this question ahead of the Round of 12. He referred to beating the drivers of Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing. Sadly, multiple pit road miscues at the Charlotte Roval did not allow him to advance to the Round of 8. Yet even as an eliminated driver, Chastain was motivated to beat the frontrunners – at least those from his own OEM.

The penultimate race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs unfolded with anxiety at Martinsville Speedway. Except for two locked-in racers, 6 of the playoff hopefuls were in a fierce contest. And Ross Chastain was among them, trying to play spoiler to the battle for the championship.

Ross Chastain wanted it all

The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team soared to glory at the Coca-Cola 600 this year. Yet ever since winning that race, Ross Chastain has constantly hunted for his lost speed. “We’re not leading laps anywhere,” Chastain said after advancing through the Round of 16. He picked up no better than four top ten finishes since the Coke 600 glory, while plaguing his other races with a string of unfortunate results. So Chastain was on a mission when the Xfinity 500 race flagged off on Sunday. “I want to win, I tried to win and I didn’t win,” he declared post-race.

Ross Chastain rolled off the grid from the 13th spot and finished 18th and 15th in the first two stages. However, he got his big break on Lap 378 when Erik Jones spun off the front bumper of Brad Keselowski during a cycle of green-flag pit stops. That put him on the tail-end of William Byron, the eventual winner of the race. Chastain reflected in an interview with Frontstretch, “We didn’t have anything for him. I don’t know what we needed. We got there on kind of a timely caution to take us from 10th to the top three, and we hung on the fourth. So, I’m not sure.”

Ross Chastain lined up third for a late restart with 11 laps remaining. Ultimately, Chase Elliott got by in the final laps, dropping the No. 1 car to fourth at the checkered flag. “We still weren’t good enough to beat the 24 and the 9 at the end,” Chastain said, conceding defeat to the front-running Chevrolet cars of Hendrick Motorsports. “As far as Chevys go, there is still a step up to the 24 for sure today,” he continued.

Despite not being able to win, Ross Chastain hailed his team’s turnaround efforts. He narrated how Phil Surgen reversed an ill-handling car for a good finish: “At the end, there were only two cars in front of me [for the restart]. I think that’s a testament to 500 laps and Cup racing, and some good adjustments. We found some good adjustments around the time we took the wave around and had a free pit stop with not many people on pit road. We just sat there. I don’t know what they did in the back of the car…and helped it for sure.”

Looks like Ross Chastain is back with his signature speed. And it made sense as well, as he enjoys Martinsville more than the racing.

Counting on the peace

Well, the races at Martinsville Speedway are far from peaceful. It’s unique ‘Paperclip’ shape features long straights and very tight corners with little banking. This forces drivers into aggressive situations that result in undue wrecks and mishaps. Yet for Ross Chastain, the half-mile short track is always exciting. After all, it was the seat of his iconic ‘Hail Melon’ wall ride in 2022. Before Sunday’s race, Chastain held an average finish of 17.6 across 13 starts. However, Martinsville Speedway means more to Chastain than just his racing success.

Before the 2025 Xfinity 500, Ross Chastain revealed how just the journey to Martinsville brings him peace. “I enjoy driving to the track instead of getting on a plane and flying. It’s a great drive, especially in the fall with all of the leaves changing, and then you arrive in Martinsville and the track sits down the hill, it’s really cool,” he said. The serenity probably fueled his motivation to finish better.

Additionally, Ross Chastain reckons his stars align at the ‘Paperclip.’ “Martinsville has been pretty good to me since driving for Trackhouse. Obviously, I’ve had one of the biggest moments of my career there, but we’ve been consistently strong there over the last few years. Whatever Phil Surgen does to the car, it really fits my driving style there.”

Evidently, the Trackhouse Racing driver had the right headspace to finish well in Martinsville. With Phoenix coming up next week, let’s see if Ross Chastain can offer a spoiler to the title contenders – again!