Self-Critic Ross Chastain Confesses Lacking Speed to His Playoff-Sealed Teammate

Ross Chastain has taken the NASCAR scene by storm ever since his arrival at the Trackhouse Racing team. For all his antics on the racetrack and his unapologetic style of driving, in a short period, he has managed to establish himself as one of the most prominent drivers in the Cup Series.

Chastain already has four Cup Series wins to his name and has managed top-ten finishes in championship standings over the last couple of seasons. Going into 2024, Chastain has already raked in three top-ten finishes, but going into the Bristol race, he once again faces a stern challenge. One that he has not been able to overcome for over a decade.

Ross Chastain comes clean about his struggles and inability

It all started back in 2011, when Chastain ran his first race in the Truck Series. It was supposed to be a single event, but a top-10 finish at Indianapolis Raceway saw him get another shot running the #66 Turn One Racing Chevy at Bristol. Just his second race in NASCAR, he finished #19, and this one race seemed to have clipped his wings from spearing even in the Cup Series races after years of experience.

Speaking in an interview ahead of the race, he even drew comparisons with his teammate, Daniel Suarez. Explaining that despite having identical cars, Suarez ran better than him at the venue. He said, “I haven’t been able to make speed; my teammates are generally faster than me there, and I know that. I’ve studied Daniel a lot, just looking through his stuff, and we’ve had completely equally built same setup cars at Bristol and he outran me.”

Ross Chastain even went on to share the experiences of the past that have stuck in his mind from racing at Bristol. “I was supposed to have just run one race in 2011 in the truck, on the bucket list, but it went pretty good we finished 10th. So we found a way to find a few more, and we went to Bristol for the second one, and I remember being just like, On top of the world, I’ve got this, this NASCAR stuff is not as hard as I thought, boy Bristol kicked my butt that Wednesday night. I have those memories of the bad and the good, but why I can’t make as much as speed, I don’t know.”

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Bristol might have proved to be a tough nut to crack for Chastain over the years. However, going into this weekend’s race, he is primed and ready to put an end to his troubles at the venue once and for all.

A hot streak since the start of his 2024 Cup Series season

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While Christopher Bell ran away with the win at Phoenix Raceway last Sunday, there was an exciting battle for the 5th place finish between Ryan Blaney and Chastain. Coming down to turns 3 and 4 of the final lap, the defending champion threw the kitchen sink at the watermelon man to keep him at bay. And to his relief, his trick worked as he clinched the 5th place finish, while Chastain finished 6th.

Interestingly, a #6 finish was the best by any Chevy driver at Phoenix. So going into another short-track event in Bristol the coming weekend, Chastain will be backing himself to get decent results at a venue that has not faired him well. Two top-five finishes in his last two Cup races are reason enough to place a bet on him. And who knows? He might finally put an end to his Bristol horrors with a win.

With Daniel Suarez already selling his playoff seat with a dramatic win in Atlanta, Ross Chastain will be eager to join his teammate and register a win for himself in the upcoming Cup Series races.