Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain is in Georgia this weekend to race at the EchoPark Speedway. The Cup Series stalwart’s return to the Peach State is more than just another regular visit.
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It is more of a homecoming that sees an eighth-generation farmer return to the land on which his forefathers farmed watermelons for centuries. Before moving to South Florida, where their current watermelon farms are, the Chastains called South Georgia home.
Ross Chastain spoke about this in a recent interview. He said, “My granddad grew up in South Georgia. He was born and raised in Thomasville or Ochlocknee, and my great-grandfather moved the family to South Florida, where everybody now knows about our watermelon farm. But it was in South Georgia before that.”
As a kid, Chastain used to go to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to watch stock car races. He still vividly remembers watching Kyle Busch beat his competitors on the track. “My uncle Doug brought my cousin Trey and I up when we were kids to watch Kyle Busch win the race I remember,” he said.
“Now to be racing against Kyle, and racing on the track — I got to race on the old surface, and now, through the reconfiguration that happened ahead of the 2022 season, we’ve had chances to win,” Chastain added.
Chastain’s brother, Chad, and his family continue farming in Georgia to date. He mentioned that they’re farming in Cordele currently and that a lot of the watermelons that are being sent to the East Coast are going out of Georgia. With such strong roots, he certainly had a slight edge over his competitors starting the Quaker State 400 on Saturday.
Chastain faces a grave misfortune in Atlanta
Chastain and his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro were sidelined on Saturday night after sustaining damage in the opening lap of Stage 2.
The driver told the press that he couldn’t make out what was happening during the crash and that he got involved in the chaos out of nowhere. Frustratingly, the accident occurred just as Chastain was beginning to find his groove.
Chastain said, “Our Chevy was a four of 10 to start the race, and then we got it to seven out of 10 on the first pit stop. We were halfway where we needed to be. We still had some work to do, but we set ourselves up well there restarting 12th and full of fuel for stage two.”
Nearly half the grid was involved in the crash and it took out other drivers including Denny Hamlin and William Byron. It is rather fortunate that Chastain has already fixed himself a spot in the playoffs by winning the Coca-Cola 600.
