Trackhouse Racing Relishing Strong Start to Season
Ross Chastain dominated the first two stages at Auto Club Speedway, and led the most laps (91) in the race. Despite having arguably the strongest car in the field, the Watermelon Man was unable to deliver a victory for Trackhouse. That part may be disappointing, but it was still a great day for the organization.
Trackhouse was the sexy breakout team last season, with both Chastain and Daniel Suarez scoring race wins. They even had a shot in the championship with Chastain's bonsai move at Martinsville. In the end, they came up one spot short, but his runner-up finish in the championship was symbolic of the strength of this two-car team.
One of the big questions entering this season was if Trackhouse would remain strong, or fall back down to earth. Through the first two races, it appears as though this team is for real. Both drivers finished inside the top four today at Fontana. Suarez overcame a pit road speeding penalty and was on par with his teammate late in the race. They simply just didn't have anything for Kyle Busch in the last 20 laps.
"He got faster.. I don’t know," Chastain said about Busch. "Our balance was building loose most of the day, so I thought we did everything right. We kept up with it and it would just build pretty loose late in the runs. At times, it was enough, and at times, they got way better. To start off the way that we have this year is a total 180 from last year. So, as much as it stings, and as much as it does hurt, hats off to Chevrolet for the top four there and for Trackhouse at our first crack at big tracks here. That is all we can ask for."
Suarez echoed those same sentiments about the organization. "I’m very, very proud of everyone at Trackhouse Racing. They keep building very fast race cars and it’s a lot of fun to race like this. My team did a great job on pit road with strategy and adjustments. I feel like I made a few mistakes today that maybe cost us a shot at the win. I feel like our car was capable of running up front, but I just made too many mistakes. I just have to clean up a few things on my end and I’m sure we’ll come back next weekend with another shot."
Both cars finished inside the top-ten at Daytona, and the top four today in Fontana. It is important to note that these two drivers each signed contract extensions with Trackhouse before the start of the season.
The key for Trackhouse this year is for both cars to be consistently fast each and every weekend. Chastain seemed to be carrying the load for the majority of the season, but if Suarez can match or outperform his teammate every now and then, this team could take another big step forward.
Chastain heads into next weekend as the series points leader, but he knows that means nothing without getting back to victory lane. The motivation and talent is there. The ingredients are in place and it looks like it will just be a matter of time before they are celebrating in victory lane again.
