Race Notes
Kubota Tractor Corp: This weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Chastain will drive the orange-and-black Kubota Tractor Corporation Chevrolet for the second consecutive race. Kubota joined the Trackhouse Racing family in 2022 with their first primary race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway where Chastain finished second. Chastain will pilot the Kubota livery in four more races this season.
$10,000 Donation for Top-10 Finish: For the second year, Kubota and Trackhouse Racing are putting the partnership in overdrive in support of farmer veterans. In the races Kubota is serving as the primary sponsor of Chastain’s No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet, a $10,000 donation will be made to the Farmer Veteran Coalition for a top-10 finish. The Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) is a national nonprofit organization that assists military veterans and currently serving members of the Armed Forces to transition into careers in farming, and since 2015, Kubota has partnered with FVC on the “Geared to Give” program which has provided more than $900,000 to the coalition in the form of organizational support, grants to veterans and 41 pieces of donated equipment. Chastain secured the first $10,000 donation of the season with a fourth-place finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Returning to Site of Last Win/Watermelon Smash: One advantage of winning the last race of the season is the opportunity to relish the accomplishment throughout the entire off season. The last Phoenix race was early November 2023 and the next points race wasn't until a few weeks ago in February. Chastain led 157 laps in the season-ending race before pulling into victory lane.
Solid Start to Season: Chastain has earned the fifth most points in the three points races this season.
Media Availability: Chastain will visit the Phoenix media center on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Chastain Q&A: Chastain will appear at Phoenix Raceway's Barn on Sunday at 9:35 a.m. for a Q&A. The Q&A is open to those who have access to The Barn.
NASCAR: Full Speed: Catch Chastain in the five-episode docuseries NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix. The series documented portions of Chastain's 2023 season on and off the track. All five episodes are currently available on Netflix.
Last Weekend at Las Vegas: Chastain started 20th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday in his 12th Cup start at the 1.5-mile track. He finished eighth in Stage 1, rallied from the back of the field due to a speeding penalty, and took the checkered flag in fourth after crew chief Phil Surgen made a call to only take two tires during the last caution of the race with 28 laps remaining.
2023 Season Recap: Chastain won at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June and at the Phoenix Raceway season finale in November. He posted 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his third fulltime Cup season. The Alva, Florida native finished ninth in points.Ross Chastain Career Statistics
Chastain Quotes:
How did the Phoenix win at the end of the season carry you through the off season?
“It made a lot of things in the off season a lot easier than they have ever been. I’ve spent so many off seasons just trying to set my ride up, set my team up, sponsorships up, it’s a total 180 from that. It’s almost indescribable.”
What kind of flipped the switch for you at Phoenix last year?
“I don’t think it was a switch, it felt like it was a progression of what we had been working on and we were getting better at the end of the year. We had a few chances to win earlier than that and to finally put it all together there was big.”
You were one of the first people to Rajah Caruth in victory lane, what made you want to congratulate him?
“I’ve seen the work he’s put into it and it was cool to see him get a win. From his entry into the Chevy program and seeing him showing up – he’s one of the early ones there – he hasn’t wavered through all of the losing, and we lose way more at this stuff than we win. I was happy for him and went to see him in person in victory lane because a text wouldn’t have been enough.”
About Kubota Tractor Corporation:
Kubota Tractor Corporation, Grapevine, Texas, is the U.S. marketer and distributor of Kubota-engineered and manufactured machinery and equipment, including a complete line of tractors of up to 200 Gross hp performance- matched implements, compact construction equipment, consumer lawn and garden equipment, hay tools, commercial turf products and utility vehicles. For product literature or dealer locations, contact: Kubota Tractor Corporation, 1000 Kubota Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051, (888) 4-KUBOTA [(888) 458-2682], Ext. 900, or visit KubotaUSA.com.
Suárez Notes
2024 Season So Far: Daniel Suárez has scored the eighth-most points of any driver in the first three points races. Suárez led with 14 and 13 laps remaining at the Daytona 500 but was collected in a major crash with eight laps remaining. He won his second career race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished 11th Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Phoenix: Suárez owns three top-10 finishes and finished 11th in November.
Last Week at Las Vegas: Suárez led 11 laps and passed several cars in the final green-flag run to finish 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Fox Broadcast Booth: Suárez will lend his voice to the TV broadcast booth for Saturday's Xfinity Series race from Phoenix. Coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
Atlanta Victory: Suárez battled three-wide with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch to take the checkered flag by .003 seconds at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That Atlanta margin of victory was the closest finish ever at Atlanta, the closest finish at a 1.5-mile track and the third closest in the NASCAR Cup Series since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993.
Another Trackhouse Victory: Atlanta marked Trackhouse Racing's seventh win in the NASCAR Cup Series, and first at Atlanta. Trackhouse Chevrolets have won two of the last four points races. Ross Chastain won at the 2023 season-ending race at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Freeway Insurance: The Atlanta victory was the first for Freeway Insurance who began its fourth season with Suárez and Trackhouse Racing in 2024. The company will be the No. 99's primary sponsor in the first four Cup races in 2024.
Mexico Series: Suárez won the 150-lap Mexico Series race at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Feb. 3. It was his 11th victory in the series.
New Crew Chief: Matt Swiderski begins his first season as the No. 99 team's crew chief. Swiderski went to victory lane with Suárez in only their second points race as a duo. The 42-year-old Swiderski led the No. 16 Kaulig Racing NASCAR Cup Series team to two victories over the last three seasons.
First Mexican to Win in Cup: Suárez became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
International Driver: He is one of six drivers not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race: Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy).
Cup Career Highlights: Suárez owns two victories (Sonoma 2022 and Atlanta 2024) and three Busch Light Pole Awards - Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019, and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.
English is Second Language: Suárez came to America to race. He did not speak English when he arrived in Buffalo, New York. He is the only Spanish-speaking driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.Daniel Suárez Career Statistics
Suárez Quotes:
You and (Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series race winner) Rajah Caruth both have unconventional paths to get into NASCAR. You can share in the difficulties it takes just to get to this level. Can you speak on his victory?
“You have no idea how happy I was for him. He’s a great young man. Not just a very talented race car driver, but also very dedicated. We get to see each other almost every week, training or doing different things, and I like him a lot. I consider him a friend. He knows this, and will know this, but the first win is always the most difficult one to get. I’m sure he’s going to win at least a few times this year. He’s very disciplined and he works hard. He’s been strong the last few weeks. I’m very happy for him. Obviously he made history being the third African American driver to win in the NASCAR national series, and he’s very special. He’s also a graduate of the Drive for Diversity program, just like myself, Bubba Wallace and many others. So very happy that we’re seeing good talent from the Drive for Diversity program coming to a national series and being successful.”
Back-to-back examples of the Drive for Diversity program working?
“Of course. I mentioned this a week or two ago, that the Drive for Diversity program has changed quite a bit since Bubba Wallace and myself were there 10 years ago. 10 years ago it was very good, we had a good opportunity. It was a good program. But today, it’s a great program, and I’m very happy to see that. 10 years ago, it was a great program to give you an opportunity for the K&N Series and the ARCA series. But to make the jump to a national series, it was very difficult. You had to be lucky and you have to be very, very good to get an opportunity. Today, the Drive for Diversity program is so involved in the Truck Series and that’s very special, very special because giving an opportunity to these young guys like Rajah (Caruth) and Nick Sanchez to get an opportunity in the Truck Series and perform at a very competitive level. We didn’t have that 10 years ago, so I’m very happy for them. I’m very happy that the Drive for Diversity program continues to grow and continues to get better.”
At Phoenix Raceway, they’re going to have the “Viva La Fiesta”. Just curious to hear your overall excitement for that event and the importance of that cultural presence and impact over there.
“Yeah, of course. I think that every time that I come to the west coast to Las Vegas, Sonoma, Auto Club Speedway was very, very big.. Phoenix and Los Angeles – it’s amazing to feel an incredible amount of support from the Latino community, and I feel very, very proud to be the face of this community in the Cup Series. We embrace it and I’m very happy that the race tracks embrace it with us, as well. The “Viva La Fiesta” in Phoenix is just a small example of that. We’re going to be having a great time in Phoenix.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
