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Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain is fast approaching a significant milestone in his NASCAR career and is poised to make his 200th Cup start in May, having recently eclipsed 500 starts across the three National Series.
The Alva, Florida native recently reminisced about his maiden NASCAR start in the Truck Series over a decade ago. After racing in late models across South Florida, Chastain revealed that his Truck debut required an investment equivalent to his entire season's budget.
Ross Chastain made his Truck Series debut with Turn One Racing in 2011, securing a top-10 finish at the Indianapolis Raceway Park. The following season he joined Bobby Dotter's SS-Green Light Racing for his inaugural full time campaign. Reflecting on his formative years in the sport, Chastain said in a recent conversation with Bob Pockrass:
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"That's Wild! It started with one. It was one start, like I had raced asphalt, limited late models, crate late models in South Florida. We just wanted to do basically what it would cost us to run the whole season, we wanted to go do one NASCAR Truck race. One turned to four more, turned to a season with Bobby Dotter and we just kept it going somehow."
Ross Chastain later joined JD Motorsports' Xfinity program and made his first Cup Series start for Premium Motorsports a couple of years later in 2017. Initially apprehensive about stepping up to the Cup Series, Chastain changed his mind to grab the opportunity in front of him. He added:
"I told the group that was putting it together that I didn't think I was ready and I didn't want to do it. They tried to reason with me, and I just got up and left. 'I don't wanna do it, I don't think I'm ready'. I slept on it that night and went back to the shop next day and I realized that I better take this opportunity because it might not ever come again."
Chastain was classified 20th in his first Cup start at Dover International Speedway.
Ross Chastain contrasts his early struggles in the Cup Series to present success
The #1 Trackhouse Racing driver is one of the most popular characters in the Cup Series owing to his personality and impressive on-track performances. Although Chastain has become a championship contender in recent years, he recalled his humble beginnings in the Cup Series where finishing 27th was a significant win for the team.
Speaking about his first couple of seasons with Premium Motorsports, Ross Chastain said in the aforementioned interview:
"A lot of people don't remember is I had two almost two full seasons in last, 29th was good, 27th was a win out of the 36 cars that would show up. If we could stay single digit laps down, finish 29th or 27th that was our goal."
With a career spanning over a decade, Ross Chastain has amassed four Cup Series victories, two Xfinity wins and four Truck wins. He will soon make his 200th NASCAR Cup start.
