NASCAR
Ross Chastain To Drive Chip Ganassi’s #42 Camaro In 2021
CONCORD, NC (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Chip Ganassi is getting ready for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) by hiring Ross Chastain to drive the No. 42 Credit One Bank/McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro.
Chastain replaces Matt Kenseth, who was hired in May to replace Kyle Larson, who was fired for using a racial slur during an iRacing event this Spring.
Chastain, a CGR development driver since 2018, is currently competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), where he qualified for the playoffs for a second time following a runner-up finish at Bristol Motor Speedway over the weekend.
Chastain first competed for CGR in 2018, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet in the NXS. In the three races Chastain ran for the team that year, he earned a pole at Darlington, a win at Las Vegas, and a runner-up finish at Richmond, which helped him earn a spot in the NXS playoffs.
“Ross has been a part of this organization for a few years now, and I am happy to announce him as our driver for the No. 42 team,” said Ganassi. “In three races with our organization in 2018 and watching ever since, he showed me and everyone else that he is a tenacious driver who wants to win. We believe that Ross will give our team the opportunity to be competitive each week and our sponsors someone to build a program around. Additionally, his racing background has him well-suited to make the move to the Cup Series.”
Chastain, a native of Alva Florida, began his racing career at the age of 12 at Punta Gorda Speedway in his home state, racing in both late model stock cars and Fastruck Series events. During his short-track racing career he scored over 50 feature wins, including the 2011 World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway, winning three of eight events in the series.
Chastain made his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (NGROTS) in 2011 and raced in that series for three seasons. Chastain began racing in the NXS in 2014 while continuing to make starts in the Truck Series. Chastain made his first start in the NCS in 2017 and ran nearly a full season in both 2018 and 2019 while also competing in the NXS. He also raced full-time in the NGROTS in 2019, where he won three races and finished second in the points standings. In total, Chastain has 352 starts in NASCAR’s three top series, with three wins in the NGROTS and two wins in the NXS. Since 2017, he has continued to make starts in all three national series.
“I can’t thank Chip enough for this opportunity,” said Chastain. “The faith he and the organization showed me back in 2018 was a real turning point in my career, and I am extremely happy for the chance to join the team again especially with all the great guys they have on the 42 and to be able to team with a champion like Kurt Busch. Racing in the Cup Series with a serious contender has always been my goal, and I’m looking forward to joining what is a very strong team. I know I have my work cut out for me, but I’m ready to get to work and help bring more success to the organization.”
Chastain earned the nickname ‘Melon Man’ because for eight generations his family has been involved in watermelon farming. Chastain continues to work on the family’s land when his schedule allows. Chastain’s signature move after a race win is to spike a watermelon at the finish line.
Chastain’s CGR teammate Kurt Busch is excited to have the ‘Melon Man’ as part of the CGR lineup in 2021.
.@RossChastain is a great addition to @CGRTeams. I’ve watched his relentless pursuit to make it to the top level of @NASCAR, and I know he will continue to give everything he has to win! Chip likes winners! https://t.co/BlAzGOljCE
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) September 21, 2020
AVONDALE, AZ (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Everyone loves a comeback story and Kyle Larson’s is complete after winning the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Larson was suspended from NASCAR and fired from his ride at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020 after using a racial slur in an online racing event. Larson completed mandatory sensitivity training and got a second chance from team owner Rick Hendrick for the 2021 season. Larson went out and won ten races, including the Championship finale on Sunday.
“It was a little bit of an up-and-down race,” said Larson. “There was moments where I was like, maybe I’ve got a good enough car to win outright and there was times where I was definitely the fourth best car.”
Heading into what turned out to be the final pit stop, Larson was the fourth of the Championship leaders entering pit road but was the first coming off thanks to blistering service by his No. 5 Hendrick Cars Chevrolet.
Larson took the final green flag out front and then held off a hard charging Martin Truex Jr. to the checkered flag.
“For us to come in fourth behind them and come out the leader was a little bit better than I thought we could do,” Larson said about the final stop. “But my pit crew, I’ve got all the belief in the world in them. They proved all season long that they were consistent and consistently fast.
We have such a great team, and they’re a massive part of it, and they’re the reason why we won tonight.”
A journey from suspended and fired to Cup Series Champion in a span of a little over 18-month is something even Larson didn’t think was possible.
“I’m not sure I ever really thought that I could win a Cup Series championship,” reflected Larson. “I’ve always thought about winning races, not championships. I didn’t know if I would ever win a Cup Series championship. I can’t say that it was like a dream of mine. Don’t take that the wrong way because that’s not what I’m trying to make it sound like. It’s just it’s so far out there that I never thought that I would do it.”
Larson has done it, giving Hendrick Motorsports back-to-back Championships following Chase Elliott’s title run last year.
“Extremely fortunate and grateful and thankful and so many different other words that can describe how I feel about being there,” said Larson. “Rick Hendrick is one of the greatest human beings I’ve gotten the pleasure to meet and get to know a little bit more this year. He’s got a great group of people running that place, and all of us drivers there are very lucky to be there.”
Larson even took time out to thank the team owner who originally signed him to a driver development deal that eventually led to a ride in the Cup Series.
“I met with every team owner back in 2011, and Chip Ganassi was the only guy, the only team owner to even entertain me racing this car,” recalled Larson. “I met with him for probably 20 minutes, and he signed me up right then after. I owe the world to him. It was nice to see him today and see how happy and at peace I felt like he was with it, with his final event as a team owner. Very thankful for all the years that I spent at Chip Ganassi Racing.”
Chip Ganassi’s 20-year tenure as a NASCAR team owner is coming to end, for now, Sunday afternoon following the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway. Ganassi sold the team to Trackhouse Racing’s Justin Marks and Pitbull, more on that later.
Ganassi entered NASCAR in 2001 when he purchased an 80% interest in Felix Sabates’ Team SABCO. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates debuted with Sterling Marlin winning his qualifying race at Daytona and finishing 7th in the Daytona 500.
Ganassi and Marlin would get Dodge their first Cup Series race win since their return to NASCAR at Michigan in August, beating Evernham Motorsports to victory lane. I remember waiting for Ganassi to get to Michigan after the race because his open wheel team had won earlier in the day at Road America.
I’ll never forget how happy Daimler Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche was at the victory celebration afterward. That weekend was the first ‘weekend sweep’ for Ganassi as a team owner.
In 2002 Marlin would lead the season-long Championship points standings for 26-weeks until he was injured in an accident at Kansas. In retrospect, It was probably Ganassi’s best shot at a Cup Series Championship.
Ganassi brought open wheel stars Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti to NASCAR in 2007 and 2008 respectively, giving both an opportunity to try their hand at racing stock cars. A lack of sponsorship forced Ganassi to shut down the Franchitti team. Franchitti would move over to Ganassi’s open wheel team for the 2009 season.
Ganassi also introduced long-time sponsor Target to NASCAR. The Target-Ganassi relationship spanned 25-years and was one of the longest partnerships ever in racing.
I remember sitting down with Ganassi at his Pittsburgh office in January of 2010 and how excited he was that Jamie McMurray was returning to the team.
McMurray rewarded Ganassi’s faith by winning the season-opening Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Couple McMurray’s Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 wins with Dario Franchitti’s 2010 Indianapolis 500 win and a 2011 win at the Rolex 24 Daytona and you have the “Chip Slam”, making Ganassi the first team owner to hold all four titles at one time.
In 2012 Ganassi signed a young dirt-track racer named Kyle Larson to a driver development contract. Ganassi would help guide Larson up the NASCAR ladder where he would make his Cup Series debut in 2014 in the No. 42 Chevrolet.
Ganassi was forced to fire Larson in 2020 after Larson’s use of a racial slur. When the livelihood of hundreds of employees depends on corporate sponsorship what choice did Ganassi have? Yet Ganassi was vilified on social media by some dirt-track fans across the country every time Larson won a dirt race in 2020.
Ironically Larson will be racing for his first Cup Series Championship Sunday at Phoenix, just not for the man who gave him the break. If Larson is fortunate to win the title, I hope he takes a moment to recognize the man who invested considerably into his success.
Barring a victory Sunday at Phoenix by Kurt Busch or Ross Chastain, Ganassi’s 20-year scorecard in NASCAR looks like this: 24 Cup Series victories; two All-Star Race wins; 21 Xfinity Series wins and 53 pole positions.
Don’t mistake Ganassi’s leaving NASCAR as some sort of retirement for the 63-year-old Fox Chapel native. There’s still the Extreme E Jurassic X Prix on December 18-19 in Dorset, UK, which leads into January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, where Ganassi will be fielding two Cadillac’s for the season-long Championship, which leads into the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season, and you get my point. Ganassi will be on pit road and in the paddock somewhere.
Ganassi wasn’t planning on selling the NASCAR team but when Marks couldn’t get team charters for 2022 on the open market he made Ganassi an offer he had to “seriously consider”. Ganassi clearly inherited some of his late father Floyd’s business acumen. The sale closes after the race.
Marks penned a letter to Ganassi and shared it on social media.
Dear @GanassiChip pic.twitter.com/amZhoX8sLT
— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksDG) November 7, 2021
In that same 2010 interview Ganassi talked about how the foundation of a strong team is built by the people in the shop who show up every day and put in the long hours and hard work. He echoed those same sentiments after Alex Palou won the 2021 INDYCAR Championship, deflecting credit to his employees. Trackhouse Racing has one hell of a foundation on which to build.
Ganassi loves to use the hashtag #ILikeWinners on his social media posts after a race win. NASCAR is certainly losing a 20-year pillar of strength and support in the garage area because Chip Ganassi is a winner. Congratulations on a great run!
AVONDALE, AZ (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Kyle Larson’s quest for his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship is off to a good start as he put the No. 5 Hendrick Cars Chevrolet on the pole position for Sunday’s finale.
Larson’s fast lap of 26.116-seconds (137.847 mph) was his only qualifying lap but it was good enough to edge his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott by 0.173-seconds for the top spot.
Larson and Elliott’s teammate William Byron will start third (26.307/136.846) with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney alongside in fourth (26.315/136.804).
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch will start fifth in the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet. Sunday’s race will be Ganassi’s last in NASCAR after 20-years. Ganassi is selling the team to Trackhouse Racing’s Justin Marks and Pitbull.
The other two Championship contenders, Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr., will start sixth and 12th respectively.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship starts at 3 p.m. ET and will be televised by NBC and can be heard on Motor Racing Network (MRN) affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90).
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