Ross Chastain Raises Trackhouse Racing Concern: "Just Not Acceptable"

Newsweek

08-05-2025

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Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain has raised significant concerns about the qualifying speed of the No. 1 Chevrolet ZL1.
Chastain had a difficult time at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend. Although he finished the race in second, he struggled with an overall lack of pace throughout the weekend. He explained to the media after the race that he had "no confidence in the car" on Saturday.
"That's a working-class day. Just no confidence in the car (Saturday), and you all saw that. Just the speed of the Trackhouse cars on Saturdays is just terrible. And we're just not confident — all three drivers."
During an appearance on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier today, ahead of the race weekend in Kansas, the 32-year-old stated:
Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Jockey Chevrolet, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 27, 2025 in...
Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Jockey Chevrolet, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 27, 2025 in Talladega, Alabama. More"Just because we were good last week doesn't mean we'll continue to be good.
"I told them, I'm ready to get off these lists because I'm tired of having to pass so many cars. I just want to show up, like every race car driver, have the car closer. We've just been off.
🔊 "We need to see some light in the tunnel that's pretty dark on Saturday right now."
On the heels of a runner-up finish, @RossChastain says focus at @TeamTrackhouse right now is on qualifying to help set themselves up for better days on Sunday.
More → https://t.co/MKhd9eLpQA pic.twitter.com/lJY8F6wIG8 — SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) May 8, 2025
"I mean, it's no secret. We're not sugarcoating it to ourselves or anybody. And that's not always been my M.O. to talk about it, but I've always been a glass half-full guy, but just consistently qualifying in the 30s in all three Trackhouse cars, not – well, Daniel's been leading the charge in the mid-20s.
"That's just not, it's not acceptable for what we have, the resources we have. We will, and we're working, and I believe we will get that turned around. And we're still going to have off days on Saturday, but consistently we need to see some light in the tunnel that's pretty dark on Saturday right now."
He added:
"We're so driven to change our Saturdays, we want to continue executing on Sunday, because ultimately the finish is everything.
"I know stage points mean a lot and there's people thriving on that right now, but really, you gotta finish good. So, it's a great spot to be in.
"It's not lost on me that not that long ago, I would have been really happy with these performances, but we've elevated ourselves at Trackhouse and with Chevrolet to a spot that we're not okay with struggling at any part of these weekends.
"Especially when it's continual and it's repeated, I'll say, failures on Saturday, that we're just, we're not gonna stand for that."