Saturday’s season-ending Ford EcoBoost 300 will be an emotion-filled race for driver Ross Chastain.
The event, scheduled at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will mark Chastain’s final run in JD Motorsports with Gary Keller Chevrolets. Chastain has built his career over a period of years with JDM, and he’ll move into a full-time Xfinity Series ride with Chip Ganassi Racing next year.
But first there’s a final race and a good chance to finish in the top 10 in Xfinity driver points. Chastain is ninth entering Homestead.
“It seems like just yesterday we started all of this together,” he said. “The 4 car has come a long way, and Johnny Davis, Gary Keller, Gary Cogswell and every mechanic that has laid a hand on those red cars helped get it there.
“Our group this year accomplished the unimaginable. We minimized our mistakes and brought cars that turned better than most and had good speed to go with it.”
Chastain said excellent sponsors have contributed to the team’s success.
“All of our partners were the ultimate reason we were able to step our game up this year,” he said. “We brought in more sponsorship than we ever had before and spent more than a red car ever has to improve our program. And it showed on the track.
“The friendships I’ve built in Gaffney are ones that will last a lifetime. Johnny is like a dad to me. He’s been tough on me, and looking back it was exactly what I needed. I love him for doing what was best for me even when I didn’t see the bigger picture.”
Practice is scheduled at Homestead at 2:35 and 5:05 p.m. Friday. Qualifying is set for 12:35 p.m. Saturday, with the race to follow at 3:30.
The race is part of NASCAR’s Championship Weekend and will determine the Xfinity champion.
JD Motorsports PR
