After Ross Chastain's playoff heartbreak, Justin Marks encourages the Trackhouse star with a powerful message

NASCAR: Cup Series-Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn
Ross Chastain at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sep 6, 2025. Image: Imagn

Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks encouraged Ross Chastain to prepare for more wins this season following the No. 1 team's narrow elimination from the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last weekend.

Ad

Chastain was edged out during the Round of 8 at the Charlotte Roval when Joey Logano advanced by just four points. The intense final laps saw Chastain battling for position, but a late-race caution and subsequent restart shuffled the field, leaving him just short of the cutoff.

In a clip of his latest interview on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio posted on X, Marks shared that he advised Chastain to prepare for the upcoming race at Las Vegas, saying:

Ad
"All I told him [Ross Chastain], ... just the one favor I'm going to ask you is just get ready for Vegas,.. and just keep those, keep the big picture as clear as possible, which is that was a bummer that day didn't turn out the way we wanted it to turn out. But we have a lot to fight for the rest of this year."
Ad

Chastain's desperate and aggressive strategy to secure a spot in the next round led to a dramatic final-lap collision with Hamlin. He needed just one position to advance, but the bold pass on the No. 11 Toyota in the frontstretch chicane resulted in both cars spinning out just yards from the finish line. Chastain reversed his car to cross the line but ultimately finished 31st. Logano capitalized on the chaos and advanced to the next round.

Ad
"The only thing I'm going to tell you, and everybody on that number one team is just, you can be pissed off right now, you can be sad right now, but I don't want to see any of that on Monday morning, because we've still got work to do and a lot of opportunity for us ahead," Marks added.
Ad
Ad

Ross Chastain advanced to the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway in 2022 after a dramatic last-lap "Hail Mary" pass at Martinsville secured his spot. He finished that season second in the standings with two wins, 12 top-three finishes, and 15 top-five finishes.


Team owner prepares Ross Chastain for more wins and a "very successful 2026"

This season, Ross Chastain has one win, 3 top-5 finishes, and 11 top-10 finishes, but team owner Justin Marks wants to remain in a competitive position to secure more wins and success next season. Chastain has three top-10 finishes in the last three playoff races at Las Vegas. The 32-year-old also finished runner-up at the 1.5-mile oval in 2022.

Ad
"We still have opportunities to win races. The company is making a lot of moves internally to set ourselves up for a very successful 2026. And so really, it was just like, letting him have his space, letting him process the moment, but just telling him, just get over quick," Justin Marks said during the same Sirius XM NASCAR interview.

Trackhouse has also signed Xfinity Series rookie Connor Zilisch for a full season in 2026.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Quick Links

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
Manage notifications