NASCAR at Darlington Aug. - Sept. 2024: Ross Chastain pre-race

all right we're going to continue our media availabilities here this morning we've now been joined by Ross Chastain driver of the number one Chevrolet for track house Ross thank you for spending time with us this morning obviously a big weekend for your team tell us a little bit about kind of how you guys prepared for this weekend and and um what your thoughts are heading into tomorrow's race how do we prepare for the southern 500 um I can't tell you all my secrets um yeah it's it's been a it's been a fairly normal week um we step through our same processes uh that we normally do with theil simulators um talking through some options there of different setups and different things We've ran in the past um uh we did fit in some extra time um been doing some work with uh with SVG and just leaning on uh on each other to learn um just lay some groundwork for how we each interact and and things um we just have such a tool with GM and uh their simulator there in Concord that uh we try to just lean into that thing and use it as a as a tool it's not the end all um kind of it doesn't tell us all the answers but it'll um it'll give us lots of questions to ponder so um um pretty normal um yeah just um talking through it and a few bike rides a few runs and and um then ate some good food yesterday to catch up and and um recover from the week and ready to rip this morning all right well now go to questions we'll kick off here front with Jordan go ahead Jordan Jordan Bianca the athletic when you're in this position that you are coming into this race how much time do you spend reflecting on the what have should have could have throughout the year you know Texas Michigan you know Nashville where if you had good runs you're in contention you know etc etc and it didn't materialize no I don't think those races cross my mind the races it did have been the past darling Darlington races as I look through and looked through the weekends of since 2021 uh when I got with Phil surgeon and and then into the Gen 7 car looking through those you know four years now um three and a half years of races right um seven races and in all of the nuances of each weekend and what I was saying and and all that that's that's the Shaka wood as of the past Southern 500s the past spring races um that's that's kind of the as I daydream a little bit throughout the week as I did that um it was those races that were popping up in my head all right we'll go Mark and then up front to Bob now Jordan sort of Mark Geral PR and Jordan sort of took my question so there's not no no race where you look back I wish I had that one back I really wish I had that one back well there's definitely races I had that yes there's a long list um Nashville obviously top of list I felt like we could win there Texas was going to run second and be really happy coming out of there uh those two stand out the most um uh Pocono I just crashed right not not at the end of the race not up front we were not up front at all but that's one where I just I just flat spun out so um trying to go too fast for the amount of grip I had and broke traction so yes there is a list but I guess I was more answering about like this week when I would kind of Daydream and lose uh lose focus it was um it was Darlington races that were playing in my mind are you surprised to be in this position you you know you way you ran last year the way you ended last year are you surprised be sitting here you know having to scramble like this in the final race yeah I am um yeah yeah it is it's um this stuff's so hard it's it's I knew that I knew that whenever I ran my first truck race in 2011 and as I stepped up through the ranks and I was in cuple cars here at Darlington that were right we were just there to to run the laps and go single digit number of laps down nine or less was the goal I knew obviously how Challen challenging it was I also you know had this dream that it would be a whole lot easier when I had all the funding and the tires and the the pit Crews everything um and it has I mean definitely right I I don't expect to go laps down anymore uh it still happens every now and then but um yeah pretty um I'd say right now it's you know it is um it's real that we are in this position so um yeah I'd say surprised if you would have if You' have had me fill out a bingo card um start of the season right I wouldn't have uh dabbed this this block for sure all right Bob Bob pck Fox Sports do you can when you're daydreaming are any of them a scenario where you can get in on points or do you feel like this is a win must-win situation well I just know the best way that we can ensure it is to win so we've had opportunities to win the southern 500 we have we've had opportunities to win a couple of races spring and fall here um and in different Series so um that's my goal um the math says we can do it either way but um but my preparation and my you know my mentality um it and it's been this way since in cup since the very first Spring Race I came here in 2021 um I left here that weekend and thought we we can win a cup race at Darlington one day um and that that thought hasn't left my mind since and are you doing the xinity Race uh to have more laps here are you doing it as a nice distraction to all this pressure or are you doing it because you committed to it and if you had your DRS maybe you wouldn't I I love Darlington so I want to race all of the races that I can here I would still run triple headers right if I if I thought it was going to be beneficial I don't think triple headers are the best thing uh for me me in today's climate of everything um but no there's never been a thought about about backing out or you know or asking Mario to let me out of the car um I I see the benefit I mean yes it's an H pattern shifter versus a sequential it's independent rear suspension versus a Ford 9 in and truck arms versus not um so there's a lot of differences but ripping some laps for 20 minutes this morning um I can't think of anything better to help me be faster Sunday night than getting Laps on track here um and uh this is only my third expended race of the year so it's not like I've you know loaded up on them um I've I've I have hit that five five race limit rule which is um kind of a badge of honor too so I don't even think I'm going to hit five races this year I think I'm only going to do four all right we'll go to Lee and then Kelly Lee Spencer seriesx on NASCAR radio and catch.com um curious do you feel at all like you're you don't have the speed that you've had against the competition in the past because I'm looking at your laps LED I'm looking at your stage wins it just doesn't seem to be where you've been the last two seasons yeah that's I think the stage stages is the big you know easy thing to point at um you look at you know finishing position I don't think it's as bad as as it would seem right now but the stage points are way down so yeah we we've just not been up there as consistent and and there's been times where we've been up there and just not not been able to put together enough points I mean it's just they give out same amount of points for every race except the 600 so um do I think that I'm well do I think that I've had the consistent speed no but do I think that I at Darlington will have the speed I I do when I pull on track I I want to go and be as fast as I can in our practice session that hasn't always been the case our some of our goals in the past have we've been fine with not being very fast in practice here but um you know this weekend is is about speed and calibrating up to what the lap time's going to be uh today um so I think that here um is is one of the it's one of our like measuring tools of you know where are we at as a team and if we can come here to Darlington and show show speed and be competitive then um we're not we're not doing everything so wrong as it would seem because we're in this situation you know we're um it's just there's as there's been with this generation car there's been a lot of different winners and we needed to be one of those and we're expecting an announcement shortly about Christian neus taking the next step in his progression a guy like you who has raced trucks a lot what have you seen him as far as his growth over the last couple of years yeah um I've seen him step through a few different teams and land with Bill maali and take a team that had never won in the Truck Series and win and be a consistent you know lap leader and and race winner so I think him and Charles and Bill have they built something special there um you know and and I'm biased because I'm over at n so I see them as a key partner Chevy truck team as a a teammate um and Phil G and and Charles they work together and and they're more similar than they are different and um I've just yeah I've seen what they've done um I've seen him pass me a lot in truck races so um yeah I don't know what what his announcement what he's doing but um yeah that's um shol Next Step um I don't know got a good thing there it' be uh just be a yeah uh bills built to and that 19 truck is is obviously just been so so competitive and so fast right Kelly Kelly crle racer.com Ross aside from the consistent speed that you mentioned that you don't have when you when you look at the points this team I mean you were 93 points above the cut line leaving New Hampshire so aside from the speed as I mentioned what what has this team fought that as you said stage points speed that you guys just are not where you were last year well I didn't I didn't crash on my own at Pocono in the years past so that one that one stands out for sure um yeah and then I mean there's there's um I mean I could you could go down the list and we could dissect it over a 4H hour you know media availability um but uh but ultimately just yeah it just comes back to how fast can you go and can you finish those Benchmark moments of stage one two and the end of the race and and collect the points um don't really have a you know anything to really point at for sure um but um it just it adds up to point so I don't really know how it's stand for that all right we're going to take one final question from Claire Bel Lang apologies I'm not going to get to everyone but I want to be sensitive to the colleague announcement that's coming up so go ahead Claire with your final question Claire beay you know when you talk about this Racetrack and you have to be aggressive and you know what's on the line for you where is it where is it on this racetrack that you can be aggressive when you're so busy trying to dance with a lady in black and has that changed and has the day and night handling of the car made a real big difference on this track the day to night definitely makes a difference um but um no this I I have only been on this track since its current Paving configuration and and asphalt that's on it now um so as I've stepped through xinity races cup truck races um you know I definitely I've I've pulled out of here you know more disappointed than I've ever been excited but I've always pulled always pulled in here excited just to be here the drive down is is awesome and um you know we've we've just had so many opportunities um to pull out of here winners and we haven't accomplished it except for one time which was this year which was just so so cool because and it really it made it more special because of all of the failures and I had failed here so many times with cars and trucks capable of winning and we coming back from Co and having an opportunity to win the the second exfinity race here that year um just moments like that that you know it was right there in front of us um and we we did so many things right but ultimately didn't didn't win so um putting together 500 Miles through daylight to dark and how these cup cars drive off turn two um they're either really good they're fast and they're you're either really fast and going forward or you're wondering if you're going to crash every lap and um it's uh when I step out of the car and watch it back it's awesome to watch but in the moment it's uh it's quite gets my heart rate pretty high and the aggressiveness you're going to have to have on this track matched with just hanging on to the car like it's a very very tough racetrack got your hands full how aggressive are you going to have to be I don't know um nothing nothing preconceived or any kind of U preparation for that it's it's more lap by laap and and you know understanding trying to keep an understanding of what's going on in the race and what point what stage of the race we're at what point what lap and um yeah how my car is if I'm tight if I'm loose uh if I've been bottoming out um off the bump in turn two or if I'm really tight for three laps it it It All Leads um kind of a natural thing for me as a driver to [Music] all right there's the checker flag great job driver