Ross Chastain played the role of disrupter when he took the checkered flag in Kansas on Sunday. In a season that has not been memorable, that certainly has been a silver lining. Another thing the Trackhouse Racing star will take away as a positive from this season is how much he has improved as a road course racing driver. He finished P7 at COTA, P5 at Sonoma, and P4 at Watkins Glen, capping off a good year for him on such tracks.
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The Watermelon Man is grateful to his teammates for helping him in what he has made a “focal point” to improve this season. Daniel Suarez might not have the most prolific record of all time but his background in karting makes him feel comfortable on road courses. Shane van Gisbergen, on the other hand, is a master of such tracks.
“Daniel is next level when it comes to karting. When we go out to the motorplex at Trackhouse…we’ll be in equal karts and he can just do more in the kart. And then I see Shane on the simulator and on track obviously and the things he can do, I couldn’t do it six months ago or even two months ago. Watkins Glen was a really big step for me,” Chastain said on Kevin Harvick’s podcast.
There’s still one more road course remaining this year — The Charlotte Roval. The #1 driver might not be in the playoffs but will hope for a good run at a track he has not fared well in his career.
Chastain learning from his mistakes
Trackhouse Racing keeps looking better and better with every passing year and this was proved by Chastain’s win on Sunday. The #1 driver will be one to look out for next season, but he is not going to be alone. With the likes of SVG and Suarez on the roster, it will be a formidable lineup for the Justin Marks co-owned team.
For the Watermelon Man, missing out on another playoff will be detrimental and he has no intention of letting that happen again “I learned that last year we won Phoenix, and I had the whole offseason to kind of let it marinate. I just let that sink in, and I thought it would be easier. I really did. I thought we had found some stuff, but that wasn’t the case. That will not be the mindset through this offseason,” he said in a media interaction.
It will be interesting to see how Chastain bounces back from not making the final 16 in 2025. He has already shown signs of major improvement and next season might be one of redemption for the Trackhouse Racing driver.
