Trackhouse Racing’s short-track program still has a way to go, but the Justin Marks-owned operation is by no means complacent with its position.
The most recent top 10 that either of the team’s full-time drivers — Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez — posted at a short track was on April 2, 2023, when Chastain finished third at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Since then, Trackhouse has experienced a long drought with its short-track performance, which has become an evolving project for the five-year-old operation.
“I feel like I follow the Hendrick (Motorsports) cars around,” Chastain said during his media availability at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Saturday. “We’re working on it. We’re coming with different packages and trying to find what works. We’ve had glimmers of hope but have not sustained competitiveness and speed.”
He mentioned they’ve been switching springs and shocks — and everything else they can think of — on both the No. 1 and No. 99 Chevrolets to improve speed on the small ovals.
Unfortunately, the efforts have yet to produce results.
“If it’s good in the race, we’re not good in qualifying and vice versa,” Chastain explained.
To add to the ongoing imperfections with Trackhouse’s short-track setup, Chastain is also working to rectify his personal struggles with qualifying this year. The 31-year-old’s qualifying record has improved immensely over the past two weeks — he started sixth at COTA and third at Richmond — but his average starting position over the first five races was 22nd.
“We’re not trying to go out and drive slow in qualifying. I’m trying. I’m usually sliding because I’ve tried too much. It’s not often that I qualify bad because I under-drive. I’m trying to find that balance,” Chastain said.
He added that it’s difficult to make up ground in the highly-competitive Cup Series field on Sundays, which only amplifies the need to qualify well and start higher on the grid.
“It’s going to help your weekend with pit selection and everything. These are the best of the best drivers and teams in the world. It’s not easy to drive by them,” Chastain said.
If there’s one place Chastain knows how to catch his competitors off guard, it’s at Martinsville.
He essentially became famous for it two years ago when he performed the “Hail Melon” during the Round of 8 cutoff race at the half-mile, mashing the throttle to the ground as he rode the outside wall and gained five positions in about a quarter of the track’s length.
NASCAR has since ruled out the option for drivers to perform the daredevil move.
Even so, Chastain’s attachment to Martinsville is rooted outside of his “Hail Melon” history, and the Florida native is anxious to prove he can perform well at the Virginia facility without any of his party tricks.
“Martinsville is one of those tracks that I remember watching as a kid. For some reason I have a few that I just have vivid core memories of watching NASCAR races when I was a fan. This is one of them,” Chastain said.
“Now competing against some of my heroes who I watched race, or they are directors and different things with other teams and I’m competing against their cars is pretty wild. I do know that we have a small blip in the history of it, but I want more.
“I don’t want that to be my legacy here.”