Why Ross Chastain Will Make Full Use of NASCAR Expanding Cup Drivers’ Participation in the Lower Series

Jerry Bonkowski
|PublishedAug 25, 2025

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain (1) celebrates his come from behind win with a burnout and tossing a watermelon on the finish line during the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

May 25, 2025; Concord, North Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain (1) celebrates his come from behind win with a burnout and tossing a watermelon on the finish line during the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Sure, Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain is focused on the upcoming NASCAR Cup playoffs. He’s tied for 11th with defending Cup champ Joey Logano as the 16 playoff drivers prepare for Sunday’s postseason opener at Darlington.

But something else is on Chastain’s mind. While it won’t necessarily distract him from his Cup championship aspirations over the next few months, the Florida watermelon farmer is eager to see how many races NASCAR will allow Cup drivers to compete in next year in both the Xfinity (soon to be O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) and Craftsman Truck Series.

“I would like to,” Chastain said during media availability at Daytona International Speedway. “I don’t know if it’ll be able to happen, but I just love to race. My team is already working on the possibilities and putting together what races are companion and what races we have sponsorship for. We still have to fund it; either I have to fund it, which is how it’s been most of the time, or the team has to. We’re already working on hypotheticals for Truck and Xfinity.”

Chastain’s mindset, if and when NASCAR announces how many races Cup drivers can compete in the two adjunct series, is pretty straightforward.

“I want to win and any chance I get to win anything, I want to do it,” he said. “It’s on the same track, which I get a lot out of. The Truck Series is honestly as productive, probably more on throttle time—like gas and brake is more similar in a Truck right now than a Cup car now.”

Chastain Has 579 Career Starts Across All Three NASCAR Series

Chastain has made 249 starts in the Cup Series (six wins—including this year in the Coca-Cola 600), as well as 213 Xfinity starts (two wins) and 117 starts in the Truck Series (five wins).

Chastain will most likely continue driving for JR Motorsports in the soon-to-be O’Reilly Series and Niece Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series. He’s made a maximum of five starts in the Xfinity Series this season for JRM, while he’s also made a NASCAR-mandated maximum of five races in the Truck Series for Niece, with a runner-up finish and two other top 10 finishes.

“When I drive for Niece Motorsports, I love everything Niece,” Chastain said. “So I want to run as much as I can. And if I can help the program by funding or by helping a younger driver—I don’t know if I can—but I’m there if they need it.”

NASCAR has not announced whether it will increase the number of lower-tier starts Cup drivers can make next season, but the likely increase will be seven or eight races in both the O’Reilly Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

Post Edited By:Rahul Ahluwalia

About the author

Jerry Bonkowski

Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran sportswriter who has worked full-time for many of the top media outlets in the world, including USA Today (15 years), ESPN.com (4+ years), Yahoo Sports (4 1/2 years), NBCSports.com (8 years) and others. He has covered virtually every major professional and collegiate sport there is, including the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships (including heavy focus on Michael Jordan), the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX-winning season, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs World Series championships, two of the Chicago Blackhawks' NHL titles, Tiger Woods' PGA Tour debut, as well as many years of beat coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA for USA Today. But Jerry's most notable achievement has been covering motorsports, most notably NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drag racing and Formula One. He has had a passion for racing since he started going to watch drag races at the old U.S. 30 Dragstrip (otherwise known as "Where the Great Ones Run!") in Hobart, Indiana. Jerry has covered countless NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA races and championship battles over the years. He's also the author of a book, "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates", published in 2010 (and he's hoping to soon get started on another book). Away from sports, Jerry was a fully sworn part-time police officer for 20 years, enjoys reading and music (especially "hair bands" from the 1980s and 1990s), as well as playing music on his electric keyboard, driving (fast, of course!), spending time with Cyndee his wife of nearly 40 years, the couple's three adult children and three grandchildren (with more to come!), and his three dogs -- including two German Shepherds and an Olde English Bulldog who thinks he's a German Shepherd.. Jerry still gets the same excitement of seeing his byline today as he did when he started in journalism as a 15-year-old high school student. He is looking forward to writing hundreds, if not thousands, of stories in the future for TheSportsRush.com, as well as interacting with readers.

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