Ross Chastain isn’t the name you would’ve guessed or predicted as the winner of the playoff race at Kansas Speedway. Despite the odds stacked against him, the melon man finally had his redemption moment, smashing the watermelon in the victory lane. After a torrid season of Cup racing, Chastain and his #1 team finally lived up to their billing. It was indeed a tough battle for the driver of the #1 Chevy, be it going against HMS drivers or trading blows with Kyle Busch.

Overcoming all those challenges, Chastain parked his race car in the victory lane for the fifth time in his Cup career. Even the high-flying William Byron and his crew chief’s attempts to stop him in his tracks. “He’s really free. Force him to slip.” This was the message by Rudy Fugle, the chief, calling the shots for the #24 team at HMS in Kansas.

Ross Chastain didn’t fancy his chances for a race win

HMS drivers and the melon man share a history of run-ins from the past few years. The driver of the #1 car often proved to be a real thorn in the side of the drivers like Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson. It got to a point where Mr. H had to intervene and warn Chastain of retaliation, and it looks like this battle is still alive and well in 2024. But this time around it was Chastain who got the better of HMS drivers.

It was indeed a special moment for the Alva, Florida native who wasn’t expecting to race for the win at the mile-and-a-half track. “What do you mean? What’s the big deal? We won. No, it’s a huge deal, Marty. For us on this 1 team, that’s what Cup racing is all about. It’s what Justin Marks has brought Pitbull to NASCAR to do stuff like this, to disrupt…I didn’t think after practice and qualifying we had what it took. We had been way strong here in the past and it didn’t feel great all day but ARCA Motor Chevy gosh it was better as the rubber went down and the adjustments were great.” Chastain said in an interview.

This is the second win by a non-playoff driver in the knockout stage of the competition. Although Chastain cannot fight for a title, he can stir things up by playing the role of a spoiler. And this win was a message to his opponents that he still has what it takes to compete for wins. “To win this today is about the process I talked about in Nashville last year. We haven’t left; we haven’t went away. Nobody’s sold us down other than ourselves, and today we were the fastest car.” Chastain added.

The team owner, Justin Marks, was disappointed to have missed out on the winning celebrations but was glad to see his team thrive toward their objectives.

Justin Marks and Trackhouse Racing keep adding to their success story

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Having entered NASCAR in 2021, the Trackhouse Racing Team has seen tremendous growth and success. Ross Chastain, who missed out on the playoffs, reached the championship 4 back in 2022. Not only that, he won the race at Phoenix last year; this goes on to show the real potential of the #1 team.

It is frustrating to see Chastain out of the title contention, but he is making up for it by snatching wins away from his opponent. Not to forget, Daniel Suarez is carrying the Trackhouse Racing banner, which gives Chastain an objective to help his teammate. Snatching away wins from other contenders is one way to do it. Justin Marks, who has been the brains behind the operation of this team, was just proud of how his team shined against some of the biggest names in NASCAR racing.

“I am very proud of this organization. 8th win in 3 years and 3rd season in a row with multiple drivers in VL. First win I’ve missed in person, but watching our employees and partners celebrate and feel pride and happiness has absolutely filled my cup this evening. So happy for everyone that believes in and works hard for this organization. It’s all about them,” Marks shared this on X.

With the addition of SVG from next year onwards, a three-car Trackhouse Racing team will be a force to be reckoned with.