"Big Swiftie”: Ross Chastain remains coy about being a Taylor Swift fan

Ross Chastain recently hinted at being a big Taylor Swift fan, but then he playfully walked back the admission, even though he'd already shown his cards to his fans.

Currently, Chastain is racing through his third NASCAR Cup season with Trackhouse Racing and his eighth overall in the series. Known affectionately as the 'watermelon guy', Chastain has hit his stride in the past two years, finishing P2 in 2022 and P9 in 2023.

Throughout his eight-year time in the series, Ross Chastain has won four races so far, all of which came after his move to Trackhouse Racing. This season hasn’t seen him take any checkered flags yet, but he’s still managed a strong performance with two top-5s and five top-10 finishes.

Beyond the racetrack, when the Trackhouse Racing team spent a day shadowing Ross Chastain in Nashville, Tennessee, as he was getting ready for a late model race at the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, they captured some intriguing insights. While being just a mile away from Nashville in Chastain's car, the host asked Ross what tunes he jams to while driving, to which Chastain quipped:

"Taylor Swift. Duh! Big Swiftie... [gives a coy look] Not!"

The playful admission also links back to September 2023, when Trackhouse Racing once meshed a video of Chastain with Taylor Swift’s track "Getaway Car" in the background, much to the delight of fans. The clever mash-up of Chastain’s NASCAR adventures with Taylor Swift's song resonated well with fans. Now, with Ross Chastain nearly confessing his fandom for Swift, it sparks curiosity about his musical preferences.

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Ross Chastain is focusing on the race wins rather than just crunching playoff numbers

With only four races left before the playoffs, Ross Chastain is right on the cusp, currently holding the P13 spot with 552 points. But for him, it's not about accumulating points to secure a playoff berth. Rather he's focused more on victories than merely scraping by.

Ahead of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chastain expressed his mindset, saying:

"We‘re here to win. That‘s what we wake up every day to do, that‘s what 150-plus employees at Trackhouse and everybody with the brainpower at GM and Chevrolet — that‘s why we are in our positions and doing our careers and going through our lives chasing wins. If you don‘t win; this is a sport that rewards winning. So, we‘re looking to get back to that," Chastain said.

"It‘s simple math. If I was thinking about points, I probably wouldn‘t have wrecked last week," the #1 added.

With his track record averages of 20.7 at Richmond, 26.0 at Michigan, 20.6 at Daytona, and 19.8 at Darlington, it remains to be seen whether Chastain can punch his ticket to the playoffs for the third consecutive year, after winning the finale race at Phoenix Raceway last year.