Race Notes
WWEX Group Paint Scheme: For the first time this season, Chastain will pilot the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro with the WWEX Group livery. WWEX Group first adorned Chastain's No. 1 Chevy in 2022. Both of his 2023 Cup Series wins were while driving the Dallas-based logistics company's livery.
COTA Winner: Chastain returns to the site of his very first Cup Series win this weekend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He won in a thrilling finish in March of 2022 which also marked the first organizational win for Trackhouse Racing. Chastain has never finished outside of the top-four in his three Cup starts at COTA and has led 35 laps in total.
Double Duty Weekend: In addition to piloting the No. 1 WWEX Group Chevrolet Camaro at COTA, Chastain will get behind the wheel of the No. 45 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start of the season. The veteran driver will compete in four additional truck races this season.
Gone Fishing with Jockey at Bassmaster Classic Pro-Am: On behalf of Jockey, the Alva, Florida native will participate in the Bassmaster Classic Pro-Am Tournament on Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Chastain will be paired with angler Logan Parks.
Meet Chastain: On Friday at 6 p.m. local time, Chastain will appear at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 701 W. 6th Street, Austin, TX. On Sunday, he'll sign autographs at the Texas Highway Safety booth at 10:30 a.m. located in the COTA fan zone. Wristband required and distribution begins on Sunday at the booth.
Sonoma Tire Test: Chastain will participate in the Sonoma tire test next Tuesday and Wednesday at the newly repaved 2.52 mile road course.
Season Stats: Chastain has earned three top-10s in five races so far this season along with 16 laps led. He's currently seventh in driver points.
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 Bristol: Chastain started 36th at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and with continued adjustments on the No. 1 Chevrolet, and race that was dominated by tire strategy, he was able to finish 15th.
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:
Can you take me through a perfect lap at COTA as a previous race winner?
“I’ve never done it. I can’t take you through it because I’ve never done it (laughs). There’s a lot of mistakes that happen with 20 turns. There’s a lot of mistakes that happen for every driver, every lap. I can’t even dream of the perfect lap at COTA. I just want to minimize the mistakes.”
Where is the best place to pass at COTA?
“There’s 20 brake zones and 20 acceleration zones on the other side of each corner. I can’t think of one spot that I get really excited about passing because they’re all high risk, very heavy braking. There are some new asphalt patches in some of the corners that are brake zones. So nothing is comfortable about passing at COTA because its really easy to slide through the apex and wipe another driver out, or get wiped out, or spin out.”
WWEX Group, the parent brand of Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz and Unishippers, is a top-ranked, full-service logistics provider offering supercharged parcel, less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload and managed transportation shipping services for customers nationwide. Customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value-driven solutions, thanks to the company’s logistics experts, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities. The WWEX Racing initiative was born of a desire to address the complex but underserved shipping needs of the performance motorsports industry, using the unique combination of capabilities offered by the three brands’ combined 80+ years of expertise.
Suárez Notes
2024 Season So Far: Suárez owns the 11th-most points of any driver in the first five points races.
TV Booth Return: Suárez trades a steering wheel for a microphone Saturday when he will join Fox's television broadcast of the Xfinity Series race. Saturday's Focused Health 250 starts at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
COTA Career: Suárez has led 16 laps and started in the top five at each of the last two races.
Near Hometown: The COTA track is about 377 miles from Suárez's hometown of Monterrey, Mexico.
COTA 2023: Suárez qualified fifth and spent most of the race in the top five. He finished sixth in the first stage and climbed as high as second late in the race. He appeared ready to battle for the lead and victory, but on a restart in the second overtime, he was hit going into turn one bringing the No. 99 to a stop. A pit stop for a cut left front tire relegated him to the back of the field.
COTA 2022: Suárez led 15 laps and earned his first stage victory only to see a flat tire and power steering issues end his bid for victory.
Atlanta Victory: Suárez won at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 25. He and runner-up Ryan Blaney were separated by 0.003 seconds at the finish line. It was the third-closest finish in series history, and with third-place Kyle Busch just 0.007 seconds behind the winner, it also stands as the closest finish among three cars in the history of auto racing.
Trackhouse Victories: Atlanta marked Trackhouse Racing's seventh win in the NASCAR Cup Series, and first at Atlanta. Chastain owns four victories, Suárez two and one for Shane van Gisbergen.
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 is in his first season as the No. 99 team's crew chief. At Atlanta, Swiderski went to victory lane with Suárez in only their second points race together. 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:
What are your thoughts on COTA?
“I feel like COTA owes me one or two. We have run well there since we started, but something has happened at the end of these races to disappoint us. But, we certainly go to COTA knowing we will run up front and that’s always a great feeling.”
Does COTA’s proximity to Monterrey give you extra motivation?
“Yes, I love going to COTA. I hear more cheers than normal when we go around in the pace car before the race. That’s a great feeling knowing we have the support. A win anywhere is great, but winning at COTA would be really cool.”
Do you like signing autographs at Freeway Insurance?
“We have signed autographs just about every weekend this year with Freeway or Quaker State and had a lot of fun meeting the fans. We are doing it again Friday in Austin and expect a big crowd. They always make me feel very welcome. You sometimes forget how popular NASCAR is until you go around the country and see the interest from so many people.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
- Spire Motorsports Goodyear 400 Race Advance - May 9, 2024
- Taylor Gray – No. 19 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra Preview – Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 at Darlington Raceway - May 9, 2024
- Chandler Smith – No. 81 Smith General Contracting Toyota GR Supra Preview – Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200 at Darlington Raceway - May 9, 2024