After missing the playoffs last season, Ross Chastain sealed his ticket this year with a commanding victory in the Coca-Cola 600. It wasn’t just Trackhouse Racing’s first win of the season — it was a bold statement about the team’s potential. Yet, while Chastain’s win shone brightly, the season has been a rough ride for Trackhouse so far as a whole. Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently weighed in, placing the blame squarely on the team’s struggles and the limitations of the Next Gen cars.
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Chastain and Daniel Suarez have both pointed to persistent qualifying issues, with none of the three Trackhouse Racing cars cracking the front rows consistently. Except for his sixth place on the grid at COTA, Shane van Gisbergen has started every points-paying race outside the top 25. Suarez too has only managed two top-10 starts.
Despite these setbacks, Chastain has regularly outperformed his grid spots, finishing three races in the top-five and seven inside the top-10. Suarez has shown flashes of speed, notching one top-five and three top-10 finishes, while van Gisbergen’s lone top-ten underscores the team’s broader struggles.
There was a time, back in 2022, when both Suarez and Chastain were running strong, ending their seasons in P10 and P2, respectively. According to Dale Jr., the recent dip in performance reflects more on Trackhouse than on its drivers. “I just need to see it a little more frequently. And that’s not a Ross thing as much as I think it might be a Trackhouse thing,” he observed.
Junior elaborated, “And that to me is more a Next Gen thing. It’s a bit of an organizational thing. And it’s a detriment, I think, to Ross a bit because I feel like that he is an all-around full package type of driver that, you know, he can win anywhere.”
He acknowledged that while Trackhouse Racing has demonstrated flashes of brilliance, surging from the shadows to snatch a victory, they often slide back into mediocrity, highlighting a pattern — a breakthrough win followed by a return to inconsistent performances.
Still, Junior hopes to see greater effort from the organization, believing the team has the potential to break free from its up-and-down form.
Dale Jr. and Jordan Bianchi believe Ross Chastain is a versatile driver
While most drivers tend to be comfortable on certain types of tracks, Ross Chastain has proven he can win anywhere. His six Cup victories span road courses (COTA), superspeedways (Talladega), short tracks (Phoenix) and intermediates (Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville), showing his versatility behind the wheel. That’s why Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bianchi believe the key to elevating Chastain’s season isn’t the track but the car adjustments.
As Bianchi summed it up, “He’s a good — he’s a great driver everywhere. And Trackhouse just has not had a lot of speed in their race cars this year… If they can give Ross good, consistent equipment, he’s going to go and do Ross things.”
Chastain has also matured as a driver. The errors that once marred his reputation are now few and far between. He no longer gets caught up in avoidable wrecks or makes reckless moves, and has recorded just one DNF this season. Thanks to his strong performance at Charlotte, Chastain currently sits eighth in the points standings, while Suarez lags behind in 30th.
