“He wouldn’t sign my hat”: Ross Chastain shares hilarious banter with Trackhouse teammate Daniel Suarez

Ross Chastain had a hilarious interaction with his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez. It came to light when the latter refused to sign the former's hat.

Chastain, nicknamed the ‘The Watermelon Man’ because of him hailing from an eighth-generation watermelon farming family, began his career at the age of 12 at Punta Gorda Speedway. He drives the #1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing and made a name for himself because of his innovativeness at the Martinsville Speedway in 2022.

Often termed the ‘Hail Melon’, Chastain made a daring manoeuver where he deliberately drove his #1 into the outer wall of Turns 3 and 4 using it to maintain his speed and overtook several other drivers, also causing him to advance to the Championship 4.

The Trackhouse Racing X handle shared a hilarious interaction, where Chastain went up to Suarez asking him to sign his cap. Suarez refused and said Chastain doesn’t have a wristband to earn the privilege.

Ross Chastain said: “He wouldn’t sign my hat”

Daniel Suarez replied: “He doesn’t have a wristband”

The driver of the #99 for Trackhouse Racing, Suarez, has faced a challenging start to the 2025 season. At the Daytona 500, he achieved a 13th-place finish after a strong performance.

However, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he experienced his first DNF of the season, starting 29th and finishing 33rd. The COTA race also ended in a DNF for the Mexican-born driver.

Suarez will be seeking to improve his current Cup Series standing of 29th in the upcoming races.

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Ross Chastain broke silence on his Chase Elliott incident with a bold message

Ross Chastain broke his silence regarding the incident with Chase Elliott at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), where his aggressive move in Turn 1 caused the latter to spin. After remaining tight-lipped for a week, Chastain admitted to the error, explaining he misjudged the speed coming out of the restart zone and went into the turn five-wide, ultimately impacting Elliott.

Chastain defended his aggressive driving style by stating to Bob Pockrass:

"Yeah, it was an error. When I went inside to five (wide in Turn 1), I thought we were slow enough from the restart zone, and that was not the case. So, I get to take that, I get to live with that," Ross Chastain said (0:10).

"With the risks, there's always a reward. That move was a bad move. I felt in control until I got to like the last third of the brake zone, and then I started locking the rear, and not being able to be as slow as I wanted to." (0:47).

This explanation came before the fourth race weekend of the 2025 Cup Series season at Phoenix Raceway, where Elliott qualified strongly in sixth position.