Parking his No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet in victory lane on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) in Loudon would mean a lot to Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain, but it might mean even more to his third-year crew chief Phil Surgen.
Surgen, a native of Lake Elmore, Vermont, grew up in the mid-1990s attending a variety of races with his father at the “Magic Mile.”
“Growing up in Vermont, you raced late models in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter,” said Surgen who owns a collection of vintage racing snowmobiles.
After working on late models at Thunder Road Speedway in Barre, Vermont, Surgen graduated Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. After school, he embarked on a NASCAR career as an engineer and crew chief.
Surgen is in his third full-time season as Chastain’s crew chief after brief stints with Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth. Chastain and Surgen have already visited victory lane three times since last season, including the June 25 victory at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
Chastain and Surgen doing well Sunday on the mile oval in New Hampshire would also mean a lot to the Kubota Tractor Corporation and its charities.
A top-10 finish Sunday or in any of the remaining two Kubota sponsored races in 2023 means a $10,000 donation to the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC.) So far this season, Chastain has earned $20,000 in donations for his third-place finish at California Speedway in February and a 10th-place finish a few weeks ago at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
The FVC is a national nonprofit organization that assists military veterans and currently serving members of the Armed Forces to transition into careers in farming.
Kubota first partnered with the FVC in 2015 on the “Geared to Give” program which has provided $800,000 to the coalition in the form of organizational support, grants to veterans and 36 pieces of donated equipment.
With seven races remaining in the regular season, Chastain currently is fifth in the season point standings. His Nashville win has locked him into the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Last year, he finished runner up in the championship standings.
The Alva, Florida native enters NHMS after finishing 35th at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., after a multi-car accident damaged his No. 1 Chevy beyond repair.
In his last two New Hampshire starts, Chastain has finished eighth both times and led three laps.
USA will broadcast Sunday’s race at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Trackhouse Racing PR
