Ross Chastain and his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team have put in countless hours of work over the last 26 races to be part of the 16-driver, four-round NASCAR Cup Series playoffs that begin Sunday night at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
But the work is just beginning.
“We started getting ready for Darlington the week before we went to Daytona,” said Chastain. “We have been focused on this time of year. The playoffs are when we want to shine and everyone wants to get off on the right foot at Darlington.”
Sunday’s Southern 500, on the egg-shaped, 1.3-mile oval in Darlington known as the “Lady in Black” and as treacherous as any track in NASCAR, is also one of Chastain’s favorites.
The 31-year-old Alva, Florida native qualified in the top-12 in each of his three Trackhouse Racing starts at Darlington and led 120 laps. A first-turn tangle with Kyle Larson with six laps to go in the May race likely kept Chastain from visiting victory lane.
The 93 laps he led in May make him one of the favorites Sunday night when he begins the race in eighth-place of the 16-driver playoff field, but just four points ahead of the final transfer position.
A victory automatically moves the No. 1 team into the second round of the playoffs.
The field of 16 will be whittled down to 12 drivers after Darlington, the Sept. 10 race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and the Sept. 16 race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Chastain secured his second consecutive playoff berth when he won at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in June. The No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet team had a great weekend winning Chastain’s and Trackhouse Racing’s first Busch Light Pole Award on Saturday then leading 99 laps and the 400-mile race Sunday night.
The No. 1 paint scheme will look a little different this weekend at Darlington with Unishippers, a WWEX Group brand adorning Chastain’s Chevrolet in celebration of National Franchise Appreciation Day on Saturday.
Unishippers has more than 200 franchises across the country and was named the 2023 No. 1 franchise in the shipping service category by “Entrepreneur.” Unishippers was also named the 2023 top franchise culture by the “Franchise Business Review.”
The WWEX group of brands, which comprises Worldwide Express, Unishippers and GlobalTranz, offers full-service logistics expertise to more than 115,000 customers across the country. With access to industry-leading small package, truckload, less-than-truckload and managed transportation solutions, its customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value for their supply chains.
In addition to the Cup race on Sunday night, Chastain will pilot the No. 91 for DGM Racing in the Xfinity Series on Saturday.
USA Network will broadcast Sunday night’s race at 6 p.m. ET.
Trackhouse Racing PR
