DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: Ross Chastain and Trackhouse Racing made some serious noise in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2022, but with just one top-five and three top-10 finishes since May, many are wondering if history will repeat itself in 2023.
Over the summer, the team’s lone top-five finish was a dominating victory on the concrete at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, a performance that was symbolic by not only propelling the Alva, Fla. native back into the Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season but also a welcomed pace that many felt would continue over July and August.
The momentum hasn’t materialized; instead, Chastain has ridden a rollercoaster of results since.
Since Nashville, Chastain has posted just one top-10 finish, a seventh at Michigan International Speedway earlier this month.
With just an average finish of 15.3 entering Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale, some may be ready to hit the panic button on the No. 1 team, Chastain isn’t even close.
“Yeah, I see the stats and we have looked at it,” Chastain said Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.
“We looked at it with GM (General Motors) just this week of just how the season played out compared to last year and it’s just a very glaring thing when you look at finishing position. But there is a lot more to be said for average running position and I am not finishing where we are running. The pace can be argued (that it) was better last year, but (the) running position was similar.
“There are a lot of things and details that you can dig into and see, and we just did that this week. Honestly, it made me feel okay because I know where we can be better. I know that I can be better at finishing these races and I have got to tell you that I was a whole lot more nervous sitting up here last time I was at this desk announcing our contract extension and new contract than I am right now going into the playoffs.
“That is a really cool feeling. Those were nerves and pressure for another reason in getting it out and another worst-kept secret, second worst-kept secret that we had this year. I had more pressure sitting up here then than I do now with Darlington, Kansas and Bristol coming up.”
A strong 2022 Playoff season for Chastain, highlighted by his dynamic wall-riding video-game style move on the final lap of the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville Speedway that earned him a shot at the Championship 4 the following weekend at Phoenix, brought plenty of emotions for the three-time Cup Series winner last season.
This year, he hopes to use the experience to make this year’s Playoffs even better.
“I learned a lot and learned a lot about myself and our group at Trackhouse,” added Chastain. “Because I had questions of if we could step up. There were some similar comments to what Jeff said last year about some stats that were looking a little lower. And we went to those races like Darlington, and we were fast, and we did what we needed to do.
“We kept air in the tires at the Texas race where everybody was blowing tires. My group did everything right not to blow a tire. We weren’t the fastest car, but we did the things we needed to do to survive and advance. Survive and advance.”
That survive and advance mentality worked in 2023, and Chastain believes it can work again, although the upcoming October race at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL is a race the Floridian is a little nervous about.
“It’s no different now and I can’t let the Nashville win or everything that has happened since the playoffs last year affect the fact that I know we need to just go week by week,” Chastain mentioned. “And then the Roval haunts me. That wreck, partway through that race, should have taken us out. We were by some gift given another chance and we took full advantage of it in that Round of Eight.
“So, minimizing those mistakes. We did so good those other nine races and the Roval stands out as the one, and I got away with it. But yeah, all that plays into the count. There is a corner that I won’t crash at, at the Roval this year. I have worked really hard, not saying it won’t happen, but in turn two at the Roval, I should go slow enough through there this year that I won’t crash because that could have been really bad.”
Chastain will return to Darlington next Sunday for the annual Southern 500 Playoff opener and although his spring race ended after a tango with Kyle Larson in the closing laps sparked harsh comments from Larson’s team owner Rick Hendrick, Chastain said he will be mindful of his surroundings, but plans to race hard
“What happened in the spring, caused me not to win and I don’t like to lose,” Chastain admitted. “So, I am not going to do that again, but I am still going to go race. And (Kyle) Larson and I have had some great battles this year. We were side by side a couple of times late in the race at Watkins Glen and then at the end of the race it wasn’t me that was running into everybody at the end. I was watching my camera laughing. The rear-view camera. Because I was like, ‘Yes, it’s not me. It’s them’.”
After his run-in with the former NASCAR Cup Series champion, Chastain acknowledged that he did have some sleepless nights. Still, the conversations with Rick Hendrick were words that stuck with him – and made him a better person because of the discussions.
So, I did have some sleepless nights afterward. So, I learned a lot from that too and talking to Mr. Hendrick was some really cool conversations and he was great, and he had some great advice.
“I live by some of the words that he was nice enough to give me that early morning we talked. I will never forget that conversation, good or bad. I don’t like the reason that it came about, but I liked that talk and I listened. I have taken what he said to heart, and I am better for it.”
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