Race Notes
- Moose Fraternity: This weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) the Moose Fraternity livery returns for the first time this season on the No. 1 Chevrolet. The Moose Fraternity paint scheme is most famous for Chastain’s October 2022 wall ride at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway when he locked himself into one of four playoff spots for a chance to win the Cup Series championship at the Phoenix Raceway season finale. Moose Fraternity will also adorn Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet at Dover Motor Speedway in April, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and Martinsville in November.
- Atlanta: The Moose Fraternity driver will make his ninth Cup Series start at the 1.54-mile Hampton, Georgia track. Chastain has two runner-up finishes on the reconfigured AMS track and has led 79 laps in his Cup career.
- Listen to Ross: Chastain will voice his radio broadcasting skills with the Performance Racing Network (PRN) on Saturday for the Xfinity Series race. He will help call the live broadcast of the 250-mile event beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
- Meet Chastain: On Friday, Chastain will appear at Henry County Moose Lodge #2170, 91 Hunter Chase, McDonough, GA, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The Chevrolet driver will also appear at the Georgia Highway Safety booth on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET located in the AMS fan midway.
- NASCAR: Full Speed: Catch Chastain in the five-episode docuseries NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix. The series documented portions of Chastain’s 2023 season on and off the track. All five episodes are currently available on Netflix.
- 2024 Daytona 500: Chastain ran the rain delayed Daytona 500 on Monday with a 21st-place finish in the 500-mile race. He completed Stage 1 in third, led twice for 14 laps and was running second coming to the white flag before contact from another competitor sent him spinning through the grass.
- 2023 Season Recap: Chastain won at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June and at the Phoenix Raceway season finale in November. He posted 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his third fulltime Cup season. The Alva, Florida native finished ninth in points.
Chastain Quotes:
How does it feel to be going to Atlanta this weekend as it’s only the second race of the season?
“It feels a little odd to be going to Atlanta so early in the season since it’s right after Daytona. We usually head out west and then come back to Atlanta. I’ve run second there a couple of times on the reconfigured surface so I feel like I at least have a little bit of an understanding on how to run the track there. Its not exactly like a Daytona superspeedway but there are elements that feel superspeedway-like. Hopefully we can get the Moose Fraternity Chevrolet in victory lane this weekend.”
Why do you take on opportunities like the radio broadcast for an Xfinity race?
“I like to do different things and get different experiences. Calling a race from the PRN booth is a different experience than I’m used to and it gives you a totally different perspective and appreciation for what they do. Last year, I did it and my brother Chad was in the Xfinity race and I was a nervous wreck up there watching him make laps. I hope to be much more calm this year (laughs).”
Suárez Notes
- Freeway Insurance: Begins its fourth season with Suárez and Trackhouse Racing in 2024. Last week at Daytona, Freeway made its first appearance as the primary sponsor of the No. 99 in the Daytona 500.
- 2024 Daytona 500: Suárez led with 14 and 13 laps remaining in Monday’s race but was collected in a major crash with eight laps remaining.
- Atlanta Reconfigured: Suárez owns top-six finishes in three of the four races on the reconfigured Atlanta track.
- Atlanta in July: William Byron led with Suárez running second when a caution came out for a two-car wreck on lap 179. Heavy rain finally forced NASCAR to call the race official after 185 of the scheduled 260 laps, which left Suárez with a runner-up finish. “I feel our race was up and down, but we made a few adjustments and got better.”
- Mexico Series: Suárez won the 150-lap Mexico Series race at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Feb. 3. It was his 11th victory in the series.
- New Crew Chief: Matt Swiderski begins his first season as the No. 99 team’s crew chief. The 42-year-old Swiderski led the No. 16 Kaulig Racing NASCAR Cup Series team to two victories over the last three seasons.
- First Mexican to Win in Cup: Suárez became the first driver from Mexico (Monterrey) to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on June 12, 2022, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
- International Driver: He is one of six drivers not from the United States to win a NASCAR Cup Series race: Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Earl Ross (Canada) and Mario Andretti (Italy).
- Cup Career Highlights: Suárez owns one victory and three Busch Light Pole Awards – Pocono (Pa.) Raceway July 2018, Kentucky Speedway July 2019 and on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 2023.
- English is Second Language: Suárez, came to America to race. He did not speak English when he arrived in Buffalo, New York. He is the only Spanish-speaking driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Suárez Quotes:
What are your thoughts on Daytona?
“I was really happy with my race team. They had a great strategy and got us points in the Duels and then in both stages on Monday. I thought this was my best chance to win a Daytona 500. We led in the final 15 laps and it was looking good. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and when that happens there isn’t much you can do. Very proud of my race team. “
You ran second in the second race at Atlanta last year. Drivers call that track a hybrid and why are you so good at it?
“I have good cars. I have good execution from my team, and it’s a lot about being patient. It’s a lot like racing in Daytona. I think things have worked out a few times for us in Atlanta, and every time we go to a road course we are competitive. If you ask William Byron last year how many times he had a car capable of winning a race – 15, 18? – and he won six. I had a car capable of winning a race maybe three times last year. You have to have more shots than that because a winning car doesn’t mean you’re going to win the race. You still have to execute; it has to play out. If you want to win a couple of races, you have to have eight to 10 winning cars. So that is what we were lacking – consistency. One weekend we can show up to a racetrack and we were top five and the next weekend we were 20th. I feel like the 99 team is the most prepared it has been in years.”
Are Trackhouse’s No. 1 and No. 99 teams working closely together?
“Last year, I would say we were working together a little, not a lot. I think that right now, we’re working together a little bit more. In reality, we’ll find out as we go. The 1 team has done a great job. They have a good driver, good engineering and they have a great crew chief. They have a great package. I feel like something the 99 team failed to do last year was learn from them. I was pushing them very hard. We have to learn from those guys. We failed a couple of times to do so. I think the relationships will bring the teams more together.”
Trackhouse Racing PR
