FBI Raid on Sponsor Left Ross Chastain Without a Ride Amid Dark Period A Couple of Years Ago

The 2019 NASCAR Xfinity season was a tough one for Ross Chastain and Chip Ganassi Racing. Last year, he and the team ran in three Xfinity races, winning in one race. So he was supposed to compete with them once again in 2019, but there was one obstacle that derailed everything. CGR revealed that they could not field an Xfinity car owing to sponsorship issues. As it turned out, sponsor DC Solar was the subject of an FBI raid.

A statement read, “Due to a lack of sponsorship funding, we will cease operation of the No. 42 Xfinity team in 2019. This was a difficult decision for me to make and it comes with much anguish as this is a championship-caliber team [having won six races and finished second in the owners championship] and more importantly because it affects a number of good people’s livelihoods. Running a car without proper funding is difficult to do.”

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Ross Chastain had a lifeline thrown to him after this setback

Obviously, this was a bitter blow for Chastain and his NASCAR career. This was because the driver could have had his big break in the sport. It was especially cruel, considering that he won at Las Vegas in his three-race stint in 2018. Fortunately, all hope was not lost, because JD Motorsports decided to throw him a lifeline. Additionally, Kaulig Racing also handed him a few one-off runs for them in the same year.

For Chip Ganassi Racing, it was an even bigger blow, as it meant their full-time departure from the Xfinity Series. It was also interesting to note that their exit was on the heels of Roush Fenway Racing from the Xfinity arena. Since then, his career has taken off and he is now enjoying himself in the Cup Series. In fact, he is one of the Championship 4 contenders for the 2022 Cup Series campaign.

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