Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing COTA Advance

It’s been a year since No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet driver Ross Chastain’s life changed at Circuit of the America’s (COTA) in Austin, Texas.

On March 27, 2022 the eighth-generation watermelon farmer from Alva, Florida battled three-wide over a thrilling final lap on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile permanent road course to capture his and his Trackhouse Racing team’s first career NASCAR Cup Series victories.

Watch Ross Chastain relive and reflect on his thrilling COTA victory in 2022

It took years of sacrifice short-track racing plus lots of races at various NASCAR levels before the 30-year-old triumphed at the sport’s highest level.

“When I look back at our first win, I think of all of the people who helped me get here. My family, sponsors, team owners, all of the men and women who have spent time trying to help me put everything together so I could race,” recalled Chastain.

“It would’ve been so easy for me to give up and go back and work at the farm. Instead, I kept working at it, and kept trying and so many people were there to help me.”

The post-race celebration was a family affair.

Click to read More about Chastain’s COTA reflections

Ross stopped his car along the race course to pick up his brother Chad, who was working as his second spotter, and they drove into victory lane where their mother Susan was waiting. His father Ralph Chastain watched the win from a local restaurant near home in North Fort Myers, Florida.

The COTA win jump-started the 2022 season for Chastain. He and his No. 1 team captured a second win just four weeks later on April 24 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and finished second in the Championship standings.

He returns to the scene of the triumph this weekend when the Cup Series holds its third annual race at COTA on Sunday. The No. 1 driver arrives third in the point standings after a 13th-place finish Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He’ll return to COTA as one of the favorite given his record of a win and a fourth-place finish in the first two COTA races.

As defending winner, he’ll have a busy week in Texas. Before track activity on Friday. Chastain will visit the track’s landmark 251-foot observation tower and drop watermelons to commemorate his win last year.

The event is open to media and fans on Friday at noon local time. 

in addition to piloting the No. 1 WWEX Cup Series car this weekend, Chastain will also climb behind the wheel of the No. 41 WWEX Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports.

“I’m a big believer in any laps are good laps and the truck gives me the opportunity to get some more track time at COTA,” said Chastain.

Chastain and teammate Daniel Suárez will have a third teammate this weekend. 2007 Formula 1 Champion Kimi Räikkönen will the No. 91 Chevrolet under the Project91 banner for Trackhouse Racing.

Fox will broadcast Sunday’s 68-lap race at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Chad Chastain (brother), Susan Chastain (mother) and Ross Chastain in COTA Victory Lane

2023 Standings

Ross Chastain, Driver of the No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet

Ross, you have your same crew from last year, can you talk about the significance of that?

“I’m so happy to have the same group of people around me for this season. Its so hard in this sport to keep the same groups together whether its because someone wants a different travel schedule, they get another opportunity at another team, or they have some other reason. We are the exact same group, from crew chief, to engineers, to crew guys, the pit crew, truck drivers – I mean everyone is the same. That’s very valuable to have in this sport and its rare that it happens, so I think its very significant that we’ve been able to do that.”

Now that it has been a year since your first win, what do you think was so special about it?

“Last year’s win was huge for so many people and so many different reasons. It was my first win, it was Justin’s first win as a team owner, it was my crew chief’s first win in his position, my spotter’s first win, and some of the crew guys, it was their first win. These people all put so much effort into making the car go fast and I have to execute to the car’s fullest extent, and when that happens and we win, there’s no greater feeling. I also got to share a special moment with my brother who was one of my spotters and I got to pick him up out there after he climbed over the fence, and we rode in the car together all of the way to victory lane. Those are the moments are so special. He’s six years younger than me but we are so close and he’s watched me have great opportunities and watched me have great opportunities go away.”

Chastain Notes

• 2023 marks Chastain’s third full-time Cup Series season. The Chevrolet driver’s first Cup Series start occurred in 2017.
• In 2022, Chastain won his first career Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 27 and his second at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 24.
• The Chevrolet driver finished second in the season ending championship standings.
• Voted 2022 National Motorsports Press Association’s Driver of the Year.
• Known for the “Hail Melon” move at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway that has garnered over 225 million views and 1.2B impressions.
• Moose car from Martinsville topped all diecasts in sales for 2022.
• Chastain owns 197 Xfinity Series starts with two wins (Las Vegas in Sept. 2018, and Daytona in July 2019), 23 top-five and 49 top-10 finishes. 
• The Florida native has 100 Craftsman Truck Series starts with four wins, three earned in 2019, and one in 2022 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 19 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes. 
• Chastain joined Trackhouse Racing for the 2022 season after Chip Ganassi Racing was acquired last off season by Justin Marks.
• Chastain has driven for Premium Motorsports, Spire Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing in the Cup Series before his first full-time season in 2021.

Justin Marks, Founder and Owner of Trackhouse Racing

Marks Business Career

• Marks, 41, is the founder and team owner of Trackhouse Entertainment Group and Trackhouse Racing
• He is a co-manager of Marks Family Foundation, with several different philanthropic endeavors. The family, led by father Michael Marks, has been a highly successful private equity leader in the Silicon Valley for years.
• Before Trackhouse Racing, Marks opened the GoPro Motorplex (go kart) racing facility near Charlotte in late 2012. He entered race team ownership at lower levels, including a venture with late owner Harry Scott in NASCAR’s lower rungs, as well as a World of Outlaws team.
• Marks moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2020 to set up the corporate headquarters for Trackhouse Racing.
• The team competed as a single car team with Daniel Suárez in 2021 with its cars housed at Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, North Carolina. 
• The Trackhouse team won the 2021 NASCAR Diversity Team Award for its diversity in the sport and reaching out to new audiences. 
• In June of 2021, Trackhouse announced the acquisition of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR assets, a move that secured two full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries and cleared the path for expansion.
• In its first season as a multicar team in 2022 working out of its Concord, North Carolina race shop, Suárez and Ross Chastain won three races in 2022. Chastain finished second and Suárez 10th in the standings – both are career bests.
• Marks won the 2022 National Motorsports Press Association’s (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award during the 2022 NASCAR Awards in Nashville. The award recognizes individuals and/or groups that have provided outstanding contributions to stock car racing.
• Marks won the 2022 “Byrnsie Award” from Fox. The award was established to celebrate an individual in the NASCAR Cup Series who showcases the same principles as the late Steve Byrnes embodied — preparation, teamwork and family within the garage area.
• He is an investor in the Music City (Nashville) Grand Prix Indycar race.
• Marks along with Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, purchased the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Tour in January. The professional Late Model and Late Model stock car grassroots series competes at local short tracks throughout the Southeast United States.
• Marks now splits time between the North Carolina race shop and his home near Nashville where he and wife Erin are raising two daughters.

Marks Racing Career

• Marks has been a driver for nearly 20 years enjoying sports car success, including factory rides with Porsche, Acura and BMW.
• Marks competed in six NASCAR Cup Series races with a best finish of 12th-place in the 2018 Daytona 500. He made 35 starts in the Xfinity Series posting a win, three top-five and seven top-10s.
• Marks won the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 13, 2016 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
• Marks competed in 39 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series posting four top-10s and capturing two pole awards.
• Marks joined four co-drivers in winning the 2009 Rolex 24 in the GT division.