With a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain picked up his fourth top-10 finish in the first eight races of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
“We worked our way up to the top 15 early in the race with adjustments,” Chastain said. “We got caught by that one caution in the middle of the race just after we pitted under green. So we had to take the wave around and work our way back up through the field. Phil [Surgen, crew chief] and the guys made good adjustments, and we were able to get up in the top 10 and we finished seventh.”
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The No. 1 Chevrolet driver only has two finishes worse than 12th this year — a 40th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 after getting swept up in a multicar wreck and 31st place at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Despite the pair of outliers, Chastain seems to be trending in the right direction after missing the playoffs last season. The five-time Cup Series race winner will look to keep the momentum rolling into Bristol on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Although Chastain currently sits 12th in the standings after Darlington, NASCAR Insights data suggests that the No. 1 team is excelling in three of the five categories used to analyze performance throughout the season. NASCAR Insights uses categories of Passer Rating, Defense Rating, Speed Rating, Restarts Rating and Pit Crew Rating to evaluate each driver and team.
In the Goodyear 400, Chastain ranked eighth in Passing Rating, third in Defense Rating and fifth in Restarts Rating. Considering he qualified 25th for Sunday’s race, all three of these categories proved key in his successful South Carolina outing.
The No. 1 team kept working on the car all race long, and Chastain’s ability to complete passes, maintain track position and make the most of his restarts resulted in his fourth top 10 of the year. Chastain placed 15th in Speed Rating and 27th in Pit Crew Rating, but it did not slow him down at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”
When evaluating NASCAR Insights’ season-long averages, Chastain’s Darlington performance mirrored what we have seen from him all season. After eight races, he sits third in Passing Rating, sixth in Defense Rating and first in Restarts Rating. Performing that well is a key indicator of on-track success.
Chastain has a reputation in the garage for having moxie in his driving style, which can often rub his competitors the wrong way. However, that same style often provides him with the results he and Trackhouse are looking for at the race track each week — and which are evident in the Insights ratings.
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On Saturday, Chastain competed in the Xfinity Series race in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet alongside Cup Series regulars Christopher Bell (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing) and Chase Elliott (No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports). During the race, Chastain had run-ins with both drivers. Bell’s No. 19 Toyota got squeezed into the wall while racing Chastain, putting Bell out of contention as he dropped to 25th place.
Elliott expressed his displeasure with how Chastain raced him under caution during the Xfinity Series contest, although Elliott finished runner-up to race winner Justin Allgaier, as Chastain ended Saturday in fourth place.
With a good showing of speed and ruffling feathers along the way, is the old Ross Chastain back? Based on NASCAR Insights data and the basic eye test, it seems that way, which is a great sign of things to come for the Trackhouse driver.
Chastain’s competitors may continue to feel frustrated toward his aggressive driving style, but it brings out the best in him. And when he is on the right side of the equation, it delivers results for the No. 1 team. Being 14th in his season-long Speed Rating and 15th at Darlington, there is no doubt that Chastain will get the most out of his equipment each race, even if he does not have the fastest car.
Other notables from Sunday:
– Despite placing 13th in Speed Rating, Christopher Bell was able to finish third after gaining valuable track position, due to a well-timed caution and perfect execution on pit road as the No. 20 left Darlington first in Pit Crew Rating.
– To no one’s surprise, William Byron was first in Speed Rating after sweeping Stages 1 and 2, which included him leading the first 243 of 297 laps before settling for a second-place finish.
– Denny Hamlin was 11th in Pit Crew Rating, but his pit crew delivered big time on the money stop that ultimately helped him secure the lead and race win in NASCAR Overtime.
