August 3, 2021 | By Lee Spencer

Ross Chastain to wheel the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevy in 2022

Ross Chastain finally received something he had never had before in NASCAR—a multi-year contract with a race team.

On Tuesday, Trackhouse Racing co-owner Justin Marks revealed Chastain will pilot the No. 1 Chevrolet as the organization’s second entry to Daniel Suarez for 2022 and beyond.

For Chastain, the ride represents security for the 28-year-old driver, who has tried to find a permanent home in NASCAR since 2011.

“I’ve been in this crazy sport for 10 years, and didn’t know what I was getting into 10 years ago,” Chastain said. “But what’s so crazy is the first race I ever ran was I bought a seat and drove the same truck that Justin—the 66 truck for Stacy Compton. I had no idea how full circle this all could come.

“It’s more than just another team. I’ve been fired. I’ve left teams. I’ve done a lot of things and I could do things better. But to bring it full circle with someone I have known my entire time in the sport and do it with a group—and I mean this when I say it—it truly feels like it’s more than just another team. And I think that’s what made this process of getting me in this car so much easier for both sides.”

The announcement comes just weeks after the news that Trackhouse Entertainment Group purchased Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR entity. Chastain, who won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race with CGR in 2018, was recruited by Ganassi to drive the No. 42 Cup ride this season. His career-best Cup result was second at Nashville Superspeedway. In  22 starts this season, Chastain has two top fives, six top 10s and is currently 18th in the standings.

Marks greeted the media call with “Happy Watermelon Day, everybody,” as a reference to Chastain’s family business as Florida melon farmers. The young owner/driver expressed his confidence in adding Chastain to the Trackhouse roster.

“This is another great moment in the short history of Trackhouse Racing,” Marks said. “As Ross mentioned, I’ve known him for a long time. When he first came on the scene, knocking on our front door with a couple of $20 bills and a used race seat, for both not just him, of us to be at this point right now with the way our career trajectories have gone since then,10 years or so ago, is pretty amazing.

“Trackhouse, we’re trying to build something really special for the future and that means recognizing talent that is sort of at an important point in their career where they have experience but they’re young and they’re still building their career. That’s what we feel like we have with Daniel and now for sure we have with Ross.”

Chastain has two Xfinity Series wins and three Camping World Truck Series victories. In his second full truck season, Chastain finished second in the 2019 standings. Since 2017, Chastain has competed in 101 Cup events.

“Ross has got a number of Cup starts under his belt and just like Daniel, Ross is one of those guys that when he’s been sitting in race-winning equipment, he’s gotten the job done,” Marks added. “That’s a talent and a skill that’s independent of how fast you can go. A lot of guys in this sport have sat in really fast stuff and not figured out how to close. We have two winners on this race team, two closers on this race team.

“I have a lot of respect for Ross. I think we found someone who can be a part of this company for a long time.”