As you might expect following a career first victory in NASCAR’s premier NASCAR Cup Series, Ross Chastain conceded he had a busy last week. The driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevy earned the win last week at COTA in a dramatic action-packed final lap – edging Bowman and colliding with A.J. Allmendinger on the last corner before racing off to his first trophy.
The 29-year old Floridian said he did not get much sleep in the immediate hours after his career-changing win at Austin road course. He did extra media interviews, worked with sponsors and just spent time celebrating with friends and his new team. Trackhouse Racing only expanded to two cars – and added Chastain – this season.
“The highlights have been talking to people back home,” Chastain said. “In Charlotte and Mooresville (N.C.), there are a lot of people that have helped get me here that have been a part of this journey.
“But when you look at the people back home, they weren’t paid to do it. They had no real reason other than they liked racing or they were my family. Talking to them, hearing the stories of where they were at towards the end of the race, seeing a couple of videos of them reacting to the race – that’s when it really sank in. That’s when it felt real.”
Chastain added the vibe in the shop was a bit different this past week.
“Once we got to the shop – I did make it to the shop Monday. Our road crew, most of them came in Tuesday,” he said. “For the people in the shop, there were smiles. But there have been smiles this year. You’ve probably heard some of us talk about it, but it is different. For the same building and most of the same employees, it’s different. This car gives us a lot of things to smile about and we’ve been fast.”
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