Photo from IMAGO

By Cole Cusumano

MADISON, Ill. – Since joining Trackhouse Racing in 2022, Ross Chastain has developed a reputation for being a disruptor as an underdog. In the midst of his most challenging campaign yet as the driver of the No. 1, the eighth-generation watermelon farmer turned NASCAR Cup Series competitor appears primed to advance into the Round of 12, despite a pair of inconsistent showings to open the playoffs.

Aside from an exhilarating come-from-behind victory in the Coca-Cola 600 back in May, there really hasn’t been much to boast about for Chastain, who only has 10 top 10s and a 16.3 average finish through 28 starts in 2025. But as reigning champion Joey Logano proved last year, all that really matters is producing in the postseason.

Although finishes of 11th and 24th, respectively, to open the playoffs don’t necessarily point to productive outings on the surface, his status 19 points above the cutline and a deeper dive into the numbers signify misleading results.

In the most recent race at World Wide Technology Raceway, Chastain and his Trackhouse team put together a top-five qualifying effort, which saw the No. 1 Busch Light Chevrolet take the green flag from the second row. Throughout the strategy-heavy Enjoy Illinois 300, the 32-year-old hung around the back end of the top-10 all afternoon, maximizing his day by scoring an additional four points between both stages.

Posting an average-running position of 14th in the 240-lap event, Chastain ran 64.6% of his laps inside the top-15 – something he’d only done more successfully in 12-of-27 races prior this season. What derailed the title hopeful’s effort, and ultimately led to a 24th-place finish, was an untimely caution that flew with 30 to go.

At the time, Chastain was making his final pit stop of the race and got trapped on pit road, scoring him 30th and one-lap down. Having to take a wave-around to get back on pace with the leaders, he was unable to mount a rally from the rear of the field with just 25 to go and track position being a huge premium at the 1.25-mile oval.

“I thought for most of the day we had around a 10th-place Busch Light Chevy,” Chastain said. “A bad restart and then the caution coming out at a bad time and putting us a lap down wasn’t ideal. We want more. We have a chance at Bristol and we’re 19 points above the cutline, which is better than being no points above the cutline.”

While the race at St. Louis served as a microcosm for Chastain’s season-long ability to maximize his days through adversity, he opened the Round of 16 flashing the true potential of the No. 1 team in the playoffs at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

After qualifying sixth, Chastain appeared he could be in line for his second crown-jewel win of the season for a majority of the Southern 500. He hoovered around the front of the field a majority of the night, often rivaling Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron for the highest running Chevy driver in the race.

Ultimately, he had to settle for 11th after a fueling issue on the final stop of the evening. However, that was good enough to be the highest-finishing Chevy driver to open the playoffs, in which was also able to amass 38 points, 11 of which were earned from top five finishes in both stages. Serving as the playoff driver with fourth most points earned in both areas is what really propelled him to build up a 19-point buffer above the elimination cutoff going into Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Like the other 15 drivers to qualify for the postseason, Chastain entered Darlington with renewed opportunity and as good a chance as anyone to become a Cup champion. The difference is he brings more success into his third playoff appearance than most give him credit for.

Often forgotten, Chastain was 1.268 seconds away from winning the title in 2022. Instead, Logano went on to win what would be his second Bill France Cup. Unable to follow up his runner-up status the following season, the Trackhouse driver did win the Championship Race at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway. However, he didn’t advance out of the Round of 12 on points.

After failing to make the postseason last year and only totaling 10 top 10s in 2025, it’s not a stretch to say the competitive gap has tightened between Trackhouse and the other teams in four seasons of the seventh-generation car.

But make no mistake, this organization has proven to be plenty capable of winning. On top of Chastain’s win in the Coke 600, teammate Shane van Gisbergen also qualified for the playoffs as a rookie, courtesy of four victories.

“We want more,” Chastain said. “We’re all trying to get to where we’re more competitive every week.”
As for what Chastain feels the No. 1 team needs to make another deep postseason run:
“It sounds so silly to say, but getting the balance in our cars to where we can go through the corner a little bit faster, it would make so much difference,” Chastain admitted. “That’s what makes our sport so great. It’s what’s made our sport so popular for decades – more than 75 years – is the thought that the drivers are over the limit of the cars. They’re sliding and they’re crashing trying to go fast. Right now, at Trackhouse, we’re just sliding a little bit more than we need.”
While the finishes may not have been pretty to this point, the current playoff format favors drivers like Chastain and their ability to maximize each race. Logano is infamously the reigning champion, despite having the lowest-average finishing position of any prior champion to date.
While many argue the merit of a champion under this winner-take-all format, it doesn’t change the fact that Logano actively holds the most titles in the sport with three – winning two of the last three. It’s a classic case of, “don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
Ending the season within less than 7,000 feet of becoming a champion and winning at the site of the series finale within the last three years, Chastain is no stranger to a Cinderella story. But unlike Logano, his hasn’t been finished yet.
In addition to experiencing postseason highs of his own, Chastain also admires and acknowledges how Logano’s been able to win titles through adversity.
“Joey is one of my toughest competitors and a guy that I’ve studied a lot and looked up to – even though we’re not that different in age,” Chastain said. “He’s been in the Cup Series so long that I’ve watched him when I was a kid. To see the success, to see the way he executes, he’s doing it at a high level. Trying to compete with that is tough, but it’s motivating as well. We know we can beat him. We haven’t done it in the biggest moments yet, but we know we have the opportunity to.”

As long as Chastain can make it out of the Round of 12, there’s no reason why he can’t get back into the Championship 4. Sitting 19 points-to-the-good going into the elimination race at Bristol, he’s has a great opportunity to do so.

He’s finished top-15 his last three starts at Thunder Valley, riding back-to-back top-10s into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. In fact, he also matched his career-best effort of sixth at Bristol earlier this season, coming up one spot shy. He also posts a very respectable 12.2 average finish in five starts with the seventh-generation car at Bristol.

Find out if Chastain can keep his championship hopes alive by tuning into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.