Sour Ending for Trackhouse Racing, Ross Chastain's Cinderella Story
The Cinderella Story nearly had the perfect ending on Sunday as Chastain's bid for the championship came up just two spots short. After starting deepest in the field (25th) among the four title contenders, Chastain quickly found his way to the front of the field. In the final 50 laps of the race, he clearly had the fastest car on the track, but he was running out of time.
His 3rd place finish didn't deliver a championship to Trackhouse Racing, but the organization's first year in the Cup Series was a wild ride that will never be forgotten. It began earlier in the season with three race wins from their two drivers. Chastain had two of those and nearly picked up a few more in the playoffs.
In the first two races in the final round, Chastain finished runner-up in the race. Then came his global moment last weekend at Martinsville when he rode the wall and was able to slingshot his way to the Championship 4 on the final lap of the race. That move put the spotlight on this team, although it had already been there for most of the season.
The journey to finish 2nd in the championship standings was a wild one. "It’s incredible to build from 2021," Chastain said after today's race. "To have my family push me away from the farm to chase this dream. For my mom, my dad and my brother to come out and keep pushing me, keep supporting me and keep being there for me. But today was all about winning the big trophy and we came up just a little bit short."
Chastain finished the season with the most (15) top-five finishes and the most (21) top-ten finishes. His 13.3 average finishing position was second only to Chase Elliott and he was fourth in laps led (692) this season. Clearly this was a breakout year for Chastain, who is thankful for this opportunity with Trackhouse.
"Who had the No. 1 car second in points on their bingo card in February? This is pretty wild. This is a continuation of a lot of people believing in me. To build everything together to come drive this car, there are so many team owners and so many crew members that have put in the work. It’s pretty wild to fight for a Cup Series championship and to have a car fast enough to chase them down to the end."
No one could have predicted that Trackhouse would have the success they had this year, or that Chastain would have the breakout season that he did. They are the perfect fit together, and will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. Justin Marks put this team together with the hopes of building a championship organization, and they have already become that.
