Darlington Raceway’s Throwback Weekend at the end of this week is a good time to not only reflect back on NASCAR’s colorful history, but also to remember sometimes that were ultimately surprising when they happened.
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Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, took a walk down memory lane this week – but it wasn’t exactly memories of sunshine and blue skies when it came to the former Gen 6 car that NASCAR used in the Cup Series from 2013-2021 before introducing the so-called “Next Gen” car in 2022.
Chastain remembered his rookie season in Cup, driving for team owner Jay Robinson, an underfunded team that tried to save money wherever it could. Sometimes, you take parts where you can get them – even if they’re already been used by another team.
“My dad (Ralph) sent me photos recently of us at Martinsville with the 15 Cup car where it was just me, dad, and (crew chief) Pat Tryson standing around the car at pre-race,” Chastain said of racing at NASCAR’s smallest racetrack (.526-mile, paperclip-shaped oval).
“It was a small group, and no one was paying attention. We had all kinds of issues with brakes and things like that. We were talking about how Dad went over with Pat after practice at Martinsville and Stewart-Haas took off their brakes after practice and were bolting on their race brakes.
“We got rotors off of one of their cars and put them on our car for the race. That was in the Cup Series just a few years ago, 2018, I think. It’s wild, I had forgotten about that. To run used brake rotors is just not something you do.”
“We don’t change them anymore with Gen 7, but back then, you needed new rotors to start the race. I had to take care of mine because I was already using used ones.”
Chastain doesn’t have to worry about that kind of frugality anymore, not since joining Trackhouse Racing in 2022 (acquired from Chip Ganassi Racing). It’s a well-funded, top-flight team that doesn’t have to worry about using someone else’s parts.
Next Up: Darlington’s ‘Lady In Black’
And Chastain is looking forward to returning to Darlington this weekend. His best finish there was in 2021 with the then-Ganassi team. But he and Trackhouse have been knocking at victory’s door, including fifth-place finishes in two of the last three Cup races at the so-called “Lady In Black.”
Here’s Chastain’s plan of attack:
“It’ll start with the Xfinity car,” he said. “I’ll get on track with that first and get reacclimated with the track, and then getting up to speed in the Cup car will be next.
“Just making it through 400 miles is the important part. It’s tough and it’s famous for a reason. Darlington is such a special track for me. I love it so much and it would be a big deal to me personally to get a Cup win there.”
