“Bit of a Disappointment” – Phoenix’s Forgotten Driver Ross Chastain Garners Tough Criticism From NASCAR Legend

When talk of the 2023 NASCAR season finale is on the table in the far future, it will be impossible to not mention the name of Ross Chastain. His victory in the season finale broke ground for new beginnings in NASCAR. In many ways, the win was of typical Ross Chastain nature: Aggressive performance, strong conviction, and pulling off the impossible. While his Phoenix race is definitely historic, remove that from the books and what was 2023 for him?

Talking on his podcast ‘Dale Jr Download’, Dale Earnhardt Jr had the answer for that. Serving his verdict that the year was one of disappointment for Justin Marks’ driver, he discussed why it was so with Mike Davis.

Dale Earnhardt Jr isn’t impressed with Ross Chastain’s 2023 season

Turn the clock to a year back and Ross Chastain was celebrating finishing runner-up in the 2022 season finale behind champion Joey Logano. Getting his Championship 4 seat at Martinsville with the spectacular “Hail Melon” move, he had fixed his name as one to be very wary of in the 2023 season. Unfortunately, Chastain wasn’t quite able to get himself up to fulfilling that expectation this year. He was eliminated early on, getting only as far as the Round of 12.

Expressing his views on the #1 driver’s season, Dale Earnhardt Jr said, “Just remove that last win, and take it off the table. This is a bit of a disappointment. They had a big speed last year. They finished second in the championship behind Joey. They made it all the way to the final four. I would have to say that this year has been a bit of a disappointment.” 

Junior’s co-host and JR Motorsports’ Director of Communications, Mike Davis, was in agreement. Though the hosts saw similar lines on Chastain’s season, they were willing to cut some slack considering, in Davis’s words, “Trackhouse is still sort of a story being written right now”. 

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Continuing to explore the reasons for the #1 team’s under-par performance in 2023, Mike Davis wondered if it was the next-gen car. Talking about how Justin Marks had expressed earlier that the new cars reset the entire field, he said, “Is everyone learning the car? If that starts to separate some of the teams… I don’t know if that’s what’s happening at Trachouse. I expect them to be good.”

Though Trackhouse Racing’s season was marred with Chastain’s Round of 12 exit and Daniel Suarez not making the playoffs, they have a lot more to prove that they are on the right track to overall dominance. The team entered the grid in 2021 with the promise of rapid growth and expansion. Currently, in the 3rd year of operation, it has mostly lived up to those plans. A couple of the big steps towards gaining wider reach included the massive success of the Project91 initiative and the signing of Truck Series star Zane Smith in 2023.

Thrilled over his upset win on Sunday, Ross Chastain himself believes that his victory could put his team on a strong momentum heading to 2024. He said to NASCAR, “Yeah, I just love that we’re staying here and we’re continuing to be fast. Our processes are working. We trust ’em and we continue to see it through.” For now, Chastain is a permanent member of sorts in Trackhouse Racing’s future. With the team being built around him and Suarez, the coming years should prove better than 2023.

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