Trackhouse Racing has faced a season of highs and lows in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, with their two teams delivering contrasting performances. Daniel Suarez, driving the #99, managed to snag a thrilling victory at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. But that moment of glory has been overshadowed by a lack of consistent results throughout the season. On the other side, Ross Chastain, behind the wheel of the #1 car, has yet to taste victory this year. However, he’s been the model of consistency, regularly finishing in the top 15.

As the season progressed toward the Olympic break, Trackhouse Racing made some strategic changes, hoping to spark better performance across the board. These adjustments bore fruit at the Richmond Raceway, where the team showed signs of improvement. Yet, despite the progress, the path to a championship remains steep and challenging. The team’s growth mindset is clear, but the road ahead demands even more if they’re to contend seriously for the title. The question now is whether they can find the winning formula in time to make a real push for the championship.

Why does Ross Chastain think that Trackhouse has been lagging behind in the Championship?

Trackhouse Racing has had great seasons since it took over Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. Although Daniel Suarez has been with the team from the inception, Trackhouse’s first Cup Series came in 2022 from Ross Chastain at Martinsville. The speed that Trackhouse had in 2022 was penultimate. Both the drivers have been used to that level of speed in their cars.

However, the speed has been an issue this year. “I’m sure the speed last few months hasn’t been what we’re looking for, what we’ve kind of become accustomed to.”, agreed Ross Chastain on Rubbin is Racing with Spider and Large. Ross Chastain has not finished below 15 in the majority of this year’s races, despite crashing in many races. He has been able to pull through, proving his excellent form. But the raw speed has not been in his favor.

Having said that, in the short time of the team’s existence, it has managed to portray good execution. Trackhouse has a good pair of drivers, and it has already signed Suarez for the next year. Chastain already has a contract with the team for 2025, which will stay put. But it seems the team is expanding and is on an upward trajectory. It is yet to be decided who the driver’s entry will be for the third car next year.

The efforts put in during the two-week break paid off in terms of top-10 finishes for both the cars. “The break was a nice break for all of us to take a week or two and not think about these race cars. But they were waiting on us when we came back. And Richmond, right, we hit the ground running and felt good about both the cars. So, that was really rewarding.”, Chastain added.

How has Ross Chastain’s journey been with Trackhouse Racing?

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Ross Chastain is one heck of a driver and has run some exceptional races with Trackhouse over the years. In 2022, Chastain made it to the Championship 4, and got cut short of the victory at Phoenix. Then again, in 2023, Chastain made the run for the season finale and bagged the win at Phoenix, although the championship went to Ryan Blaney.

The comfort level that Chastain has with most of his team at Trackhouse owes to the prior affiliations. Chastain confesses, “Even before Trackhouse back to the #42 car we had some of the same people that are on the one car now. We were together on the #42, so we took our lumps that year, the last year of the Gen 6 car and then came into the Gen 7 and hit the ground running obviously.”

The chemistry among drivers and their teams makes for a power-packed show. And Ross Chastain certainly agrees with that. He concluded, “We’re in a growth mindset, as Justin would say. And so, it’s a good time to be here.”