Ross Chastain Reminisces on 2023 Nashville Win as a “Career Highlight”, Reflects on NASCAR Journey

Ross Chastain on why "It's really hard to go to sleep" ahead of the Daytona 500

NASCAR travels to Nashville this weekend. The upcoming race will be the fourth time the Cup Series field competes in the Superspeedway since its reopening in 2021. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, having won in 2023, is now geared up to double his count and secure a spot in the 2024 playoffs.

Asked about his maiden win at the track, the Trackhouse Racing superstar says, “Career highlight for sure. One of those weekends that you dream about and we went out and performed. I was questioning if I was coming off the corner and there were times when I deliberately lifted off to get out of a situation that I didn’t think was worth it.”

“So, yeah. Really proud of that. I’ve been trying to put something like that together for a lot of weeks since.” That win was his first of 2023. It would only be fitting that he collects his first 2024 win on the same track. The key to success this time though is not one single factor. He believes that the balance of his car and not making mistakes on the pit road will help the chances of victory.

The driver admitted that he has been a bit disappointed at not being able to win a race this deep into the season. He looked back at the opportunities that he missed because of menial mistakes and hoped to even them out in the upcoming races. Chastain currently sits ninth on the points table. While he could enter the playoffs without visiting the victory lane, he would only be too glad to do so with a win.

How a hobby turned into a full-time profession for Chastain

Talking to Jonathan Ramos, a sports broadcaster from the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Chastain went on a trip down memory lane. He opened up on the journey that he went through before becoming a stock car racing star. He said, “It was a hobby [racing]. We farmed [watermelons] and it’s what I wanted to do when I grew up. We raced just for fun starting at local tracks.”

The hobby soon became a profession due to his exceptional skill behind the wheel. Speed also bound Chastain’s family closer together and put him on a path toward racing for a living. “The NASCAR side was just supposed to be one bucket list Truck race. That one race in 2011. It’s obviously paid off well. We had no plan. They didn’t grow me to be a NASCAR driver.” 

Post Edited By: Srijan Mandal
Ross Chastain

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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