Ross Chastain’s aggressiveness has made him one of the best-known NASCAR drivers on the Cup circuit and also a deadly enemy of some of his peers in the sport.
After Sunday’s crash at Darlington Raceway with Kyle Larson, he drew the ire of legendary team owner Rick Hendrick, who warned Chastain «he’s going to make a lot of enemies.»
Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, admitted in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that his driver «has a few things he has to fix.»
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Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse Racing, looks on before the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 race on May 14, 2023 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
«We’ve had a lot of conversations with a lot of people today. Some tough conversations. I think the important message here is that we believe in Ross’s talents. That’s obvious,» Marks said. «He’s very fast. But he’s got a few things he has to fix. Today we start the process of handling that more aggressively, with our partners, with Ross and with our team. Not necessarily because we’re mad at him, but there’s so much opportunity here .
«We’re addressing it. I’m going to take a more active role in that. I love the kid. I love the opportunity he’s given every single person at the Trackhouse to be able to put together a championship race. But there are things that have to be cleaned up. It’s a process he’s going to have to start going through sooner rather than later.»
Chastain had a heated incident with Noah Gragson late in the Kansas race. Chastain landed a punch on Gragson before NASCAR officials separated them.
Ross Chastain, #1 Trackhouse Racing Worldwide Express/UPS Chevrolet, enters turn 4 during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 on May 13, 2023 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Marks said he supports Chastain, but regrets that Chevrolet has lost face.
«Ross had a great race,» added Marks. «He made good decisions in the first and second stages and he didn’t compete very hard with the guys, he let a couple of people go, he handled that give and take.»
«Then it all fell apart in the end. (Yes) Ross clears Kyle and makes that pass and wins throwback weekend at Darlington seven days after a fight on pit road, and the guy is a legend. He’s got the ability to do that; he has the ability to do it. The result was just bad, bad for everyone. It was bad for Hendrick, bad for Chevrolet, bad for Trackhouse and bad for Ross as the points leader.»
Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Chevrolet AdventHealth, gets into his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 6, 2023 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Chastain is currently in first place in the points standings. Although he hasn’t won any wins this season thus far, he has five top-5 finishes and six top-10 finishes. He also leads the Cup Series with five stage wins.
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NASCAR returns to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star race on Sunday night.