Race Notes
Busch Light Iconic: The Busch Light Iconic scheme returns to Ross Chastain's No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Chastain last drove the iconic scheme in February's Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Break for Busch Sweepstakes: Every week throughout the season, Busch Light will be giving NASCAR fans a chance to win some big prizes. Follow @BuschBeer on X and tweet using #BreakForBusch #Sweepstakes during every commercial break during the race to enter for a chance to win. This week at Richmond, $1,000 is up for grabs. BUSCH® RACING ALWAYS ON SWEEPSTAKES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to US residents 21+. Begins at the start of the NASCAR Cup Series™ race (“Race”) scheduled to occur at 7:00 p.m. EDT on 3/31/24 and ends at the conclusion of the Race. If the Race is rescheduled, the Sweepstakes Period will begin at the rescheduled time and date of the Race and will end at the conclusion of the Race. See Official Rules at https://busch.com/breakForBusch for details. Msg & data rates may apply. Void where prohibited.
Richmond Stats: In 10 Cup Series starts at Richmond, Chastain has a best finish of third in April 2023 along with 100 laps led at the .75-mile Virginia track. He's started in the top four in two out of the last three events.
Sonoma Tire Test: Chastain will participate in the Sonoma tire test Tuesday and Wednesday at the newly repaved 2.52-mile road course. The Cup Series will return to the California track in early June.
Season Stats: Chastain has earned fourth top-10s in six races so far this season along with 26 laps led. He's currently eighth in driver points.
Last Week at Bassmaster Classic Celebrity Pro-Am: Last Thursday, Chastain competed in a non-racing event - the Bassmaster Classic Celebrity Pro-Am on behalf of Jockey. He fished with Angler Logan Parks and they finished sixth in the Oklahoma tournament.
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 COTA: Chastain started sixth at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. He finished 10th in Stage 1 and led the opening 10 laps of the final stage before the handling went away and he finished seventh.
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 technical is racing at Richmond?
“It’s can be frustrating to race there because you have to be so precise. If I’m going around the bottom, I try to put my left front tire and I try and put my left rear tire on the painted line because it has more grip than the asphalt. So you have to be super technical and get your car down on the line and attach the tires on top of that line and its kind of like a railroad track, it just pulls the car around the corner faster. Sometimes up to a mile an hour faster. Some tracks used to be that way like Atlanta and have more grip on the paint and some have less. To run on the bottom on that line you have to be very calm with the steering wheel, very calm with the pedal and just get the car down to that line to get through the corner.”
What do you think about racing at Richmond under the lights?
“Yes, give me lights. Give me a racecar on a short track under the lights at night. It’s just awesome. I wish, our cars don’t spark anymore but I do miss sparks. Now I don’t like my car to spark because that means its hitting the ground pretty hard but I miss watching cars sparking going around the race track.”
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Suárez Notes
Quaker State: Sunday's race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway marks the first appearance of the 2024 Quaker State Paint scheme on the No. 99. Trackhouse Racing and Quaker State announced in January an extension of their sponsorship and technical alliance that was forged in early 2023. In addition to primary sponsorship races on the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Daniel Suárez and associate branding on the Chevrolet Camaro driven by Ross Chastain, Quaker State was the primary sponsor of Suárez in the NASCAR Mexico Series race he won at the LA Coliseum on Feb. 4.
Quaker State's Long History in Racing: The Quaker State brand has a long history with NASCAR and has enjoyed unprecedented success with some of its top race teams. Quaker State motor oil has been in NASCAR drivers’ engines for more than 7 million on-track miles, and more than 170 victories by some of the most-recognized drivers. Quaker State motor oils have helped deliver titles at each of the three levels of NASCAR, including 10 NASCAR Cup Series championships.
Season So Far: Suárez is 14th in points and likely secured a place in the 2024 playoffs with his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 25.
Atlanta Victory: At Atlanta, 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:
Your Atlanta victory likely locked you into the 2024 playoffs. Do you think about that?
“Honestly I haven’t even thought about that. I haven’t even thought about the playoffs. We have a long way to go before the playoffs. In my mind, I don’t want to be one of those drivers that wins one race to get into the playoffs and that’s it. I don’t want to be part of that. The goal here is to do more than that; be strong in the regular season. I know that to be able to contend for the championship, you have to win three or more races, and that’s the goal for our team. The goal is to build a strong season where we have stage points and wins, so that when we get into the playoffs, we can say we made the playoffs but in a strong fashion. That’s the goal and everyone at Trackhouse Racing is working very hard to be able to deliver that.”
Does the victory at least give you freedom to gamble more on race strategy?
“It definitely gives us a lot more freedom. We want to gamble wisely. You don’t want to do just wild gambles and hope for the best, like a stage running long and hoping for things to just fall in your lap. But you can gamble a little bit in the setup and you can gamble a little bit on the strategy. You can push the limits a little bit harder in a few areas. I think it’s a very good thing.”
What is it like to have Quaker State on your car?
“Quaker State is very big in Mexico. Every garage or automotive business you visit has a Quaker State sign or logo hanging somewhere in the shop. I remember (Indycar) driver Adrian Fernandez racing the Quaker State car when I was a kid. He was one of the first Mexican drivers to make it big and we were all fans. I never thought I would drive the Quaker State car in NASCAR.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
- General Tire 150: Zilisch triumphsfor first ARCA Menards Series victory - April 26, 2024
- Greg Van Alst Determined to Conquer Monster Mile Debut - April 26, 2024
- Chiaramonte’s Speed Impressive at Merced – Debuts New Car at Perris on Saturday - April 26, 2024