“It hurt the crop”: Eighth generation farmer Ross Chastain updates on the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Milton

Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain revealed that Hurricane Milton damaged his crop. Yet, the yield is expected to be better than the worst they've faced. Apart from racing full-time in the Cup Series, Chastain is also an eighth-generation watermelon farmer from Alva, Florida.

The 31-year-old's family has been involved in farming for the past century, and he has taken up the role as well. Recently, Hurricane Milton hit parts of Florida in the United States, which had a hard impact on those who rely entirely on farming. Chastain's farm was also a part of it.

The Trackhouse Racing driver was asked about the damage it did to his family's crop. He revealed that certain parts were damaged, but their condition was still better relative to what other people went through.

"It hurt the fall crop," Ross Chastain said. "My uncle, the cousins had a fall crop and so it definitely hurt it but it survived and they're harvesting some. So it's better than other years we've had a total crop loss for this fall crop in the past and so it was nice to see them out in their harvesting a couple days later. Yeah, everybody's houses made it through so pretty fortunate compared to a lot of people."

Ross Chastain's performance remained consistent this season; however, he could not qualify for the playoffs. The Floridian has won one race so far this season in Kansas.

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Ross Chastain reacts to not being a part of the playoff squad

Having not won any races during the regular Cup Series season, Chastain did not get into the top 16. However, he did manage to win at Kansas, marking his only victory in the season so far.

Discussing how he felt about not being a part of the playoffs this season, he mentioned that he is "extremely happy."

"I’ve never been so happy to watch y’all walk by, everybody in this room. I’ve never been so happy to watch Netflix walk the other way when I get there. Like, the boom mics are going that way. They’re following Daniel Suarez. They’re talking to Justin Marks, but none of it’s about me.

"To be honest, I love it. I’m all for it. I’m the first one to sign up for Netflix. I’m the first one to sign up for interviews, but when they go the other way, I love it" [9:50].

Ross Chastain has had ten other finishes within the top 10 this season. His best championship finish came with Trackhouse in the 2022 season in second place.