Ross Chastain’s win at the Ally 400 was inspirational to many. Getting to his first win in the Cup since Talladega last year, the journey from then to now wasn’t quite smooth. Chastain has seen everything from drawing hate for aggression on the track to earning comparisons to Dale Earnhardt.

One of the persons who has been his constant pillar of strength is his mother, Susan Chastain. With a firm belief in her son’s abilities, she has always stood by the TrackHouse Racing Team driver. One of the recent events that tested the Chastain family was the warning by Rick Hendrick. In a recent interview, Susan spoke about how the situation unfolded and how they held their ground.

Susan, the mother of Ross Chastain, talks about how he handled the psychological pressure after Darlington

This year’s Darlington provided us with some fireworks both on and off the track. With Chastain wrecking Kyle Larson which led to him bowing out of the race, the Hendrick Motorsports owner was out of patience. Issuing warnings of retaliation by his team, Mr. Hendrick even said, “I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars,”. Safe to say, the situation escalated to a new level with the wreck.

Susan was asked, “You’re a mom. You can tell what your son is thinking. How did that stuff affect him emotionally?”

Explaining how her son stood by the intense allegations, she said, “I mean it does, and you know I will call sometimes and say, you know I know it’s a rough time, keep the faith, and you know just snippets of conversation, and you know we’re talking about but not a lot. But it doesn’t bother them you know, nobody wants to be a person everybody looks negatively at.”

Ross Chastain drives aggressively, and it has been a topic of fiery discussion in the community. While he has tried to justify his approach, several fans and fellow drivers have not taken to it kindly. Explaining Ross’ viewpoint, Susan added, “[He] was racing harder? Yeah we all come here to do better at whatever our job is. and I think he took some of that to heart but he did get a lot of extra criticism I guess. And it did bother him to a degree but it didn’t bother him enough to change who he is. Like he was rock solid at the end of the day and I guess that’s the best you hope for as a mom.”

The win at Nashville confirmed what Susan implied.

Read More: Dale Jarrett & Kyle Petty Support “Calculated” Ross Chastain Narrative Despite Objection From Denny Hamlin

It is what it is: Susan Chastain on how to keep going every day

A nurse by profession, Susan knows what it feels like to be burdened by expectations. NASCAR is as demanding as any other sport. But not just mechanically, technically, or physically but also in terms of mental fortitude. Events at this stage can be a huge pressure. Addressing the same, Susan revealed her mantra for life.

“I get reamed out of my job. I called him a while back and [said] I’ve kind of been reamed out a couple of times at work for different things.

Susan explained the importance of being persistent in one’s approach to life, emphasizing the role of turning up every day to one’s duties.

“It is what it is. This is what I say okay, we’ll come back and do it again the next day.”

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