What is the 'grandfather clock' that Ross Chastain wants for NASCAR Martinsville race this weekend?

Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain might not have locked in his Championship 4 spot. He, however, has two back-to-back runner-up finishes in the two Round of 8 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, putting him in a comfortable position for this week’s Martinsville race.

Sunday’s Xfinity 500 will be the race that will set the Championship 4 field. Chastain and his #1 Chevrolet Trackhouse Racing team are currently 19 points above the elimination line, ahead of all the other playoff drivers who are yet to earn their berth.

If he manages to stay out of trouble at Martinsville Speedway, Chastain will be in a good position in the playoff standings. He had a P5 finish earlier this season at this venue which will provide a lot of confidence.

After last weekend’s Homestead-Miami race, Ross Chastain admitted that he wants to win Martinsville’s “Grandfather Clock” this weekend. The “Grandfather Clock” is a seven-foot trophy awarded to the winner of Martinsville and is one of the most prestigious trophies in NASCAR. The tradition started for the first time in 1964 when H. Clay Earles decided he wanted to present a trophy that would commemorate the Martinsville area.

Chastain said:

‘We’ll go qualify as best we can. And I’m late all the time, so a grandfather clock might do me a little good for the rest of my life.”

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“For Trackhouse, we’re learning all this together” – Ross Chastain

With one race remaining, at least two and possibly three Cup Series playoff drivers will advance into the 2022 season’s final race on points.

The #1 driver reached the Round of 8 for the first time in his Cup career and there’s a bit of anxiety about being one good effort away from the Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway. Speaking about his expectations from the season so far, Ross Chastain said:

“I’ve never been here. For Trackhouse, we’re learning all this together; we’re experiencing this together. We’ve got a lot of knowledge in our shop and I’ll lean on a lot of teammates, both in the GM camp and inside our shop of how to approach it. But I’m a racer. We’re just going to race.”

Catch Chastain at Michigan Speedway for the elimination race of the Round of 8 on Sunday, October 30 at 2:00 pm ET