Ross Chastain’s first full-time NASCAR season was in the Truck Series back in 2012 when he suited up for SS-Green Light Racing. He finished 17th in the points table, which was enough to earn him a meeting, disguised as an audition, with Brad Keselowski.
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Keselowski was in the hunt for young talents who could develop within the folds of his team, Brad Keselowski Racing, and Chastain caught his eye. TJ Majors, who spotted him in 2012, also worked with Keselowski and was the one who pitched his name to the former Cup Series champion.
“That whole experience was scary, though,” Chastain recalled in a 2016 interview. “We were meeting T.J. and Brad for dinner, and my dad and I left two hours early even though it was only a 10-minute drive.”
The meeting took place at a Mexican restaurant in Mooresville. Majors had explained to him that he would need to fill in for Keselowski whenever required, and the entire ordeal left him so nervous that he couldn’t take a single bite.
Chastain further stated, “Finally, T.J. tells Brad I should fill in for him when he can’t run certain races… and Brad says, ‘Okay, let’s see what you can do.’ Then I was finally able to eat. Driving for Brad’s team was in some ways an easy decision to make, but in others a really hard one.”
He had a good thing running with SS-Greenlight Racing. The dilemma he faced was whether to risk it all. In the end, he decided that he must take the step up if he wanted to make a name for himself.
After joining Keselowski, Chastain was stunned from the moment he stepped into his Racing shop. He found everything to be pristine and advanced. The resources they had on offer were something new to him.
“I definitely had a lot to learn,” he admitted. “It took me half the year to figure out how to drive a truck that was that fast. I started out driving the way I used to, but you have to drive these differently.”
The suspension setup on his truck required him to slam the truck down to the ground hard to make it go fast. He also discovered in due course that not racing slowly was actually more dangerous than racing fast in trucks. He started 14 races that season and secured seven top-10 finishes. This included two runner-up finishes. It truly helped launch his path towards the Cup Series in many ways.
