CONCORD, N.C. — Ross Chastain’s confidence on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL has steadily dwindled since he first faced the 2.25-mile road course in 2018.
With an average finish of 26.5 at the Bank of America ROVAL 400 over the last four years, the Trackhouse Racing driver considers the part-road course, part-oval to be the most disappointing race track on his résumé.
According to the Florida native, one of his reoccurring problems is speed.
“Probably the worst track I’ve driven on, just across the board, for speed and the confidence that then nosedives after that,” Chastain explained. “But, I’m not the same driver I was last year or the first year of the ROVAL.”
He’s right. Since 2018 — his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series — Chastain has built quite a reputation. He’s a three-time race winner, he’s the “Hail Melon” man and he’s made it clear that he’ll do whatever it takes to advance in the playoffs.
Entering the ROVAL, which is the cutoff race for the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet is in a critical position.
He’s 11th in the standings, 10 points below the cutline.
If it wasn’t for a tough break at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last Sunday when Chastain got caught in an incident during the YellaWood 500 and finished 37th, his weekend in Charlotte might’ve felt a little less like a pressure cooker.
“I was more impressed with my ability to lose points,” Chastain recalled. “I was driving home, probably somewhere north of Atlanta on 85 and I lost another point. I thought it would be more though, honestly.”
This weekend, Chastain knows he needs to be in a position to capitalize when stage points are awarded on Sunday.
But at the same time, at the ripe age of 30 years old, Chastain says it’s become easier to draw a mental line between the on-paper results and the work that’s being put in behind the scenes. As he described, they’re often not the same thing.
“There’s no doubt that the preparation this week, that amongst the team, people are asking me how the sim sessions are going and they’re asking me how I feel — they’re asking me all these questions about the prep, when the prep is the same that it’s been,” Chastain said.
He did have extra time on the DIL (Driver-in-the-Loop) simulator, but that’s been the standard routine with the other road course races on the schedule. Truly, Chastain can’t change his fortune at the ROVAL until the green flag waves on Sunday.
But when considering how he performed during the Round of Eight cutoff race last fall at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway — pulling his viral “ride-the-wall” move to advance to the Championship Four — it’s clear Chastain can perform when his back is against the wall.
“It all starts with the speed of the car, that sort of dictates decisions, and it becomes a wave effect after that,” Chastain said. “Whether it pays off or not, I know we’re putting in the work.”