“It’s heartbreaking”: Ross Chastain doesn’t hold back his emotions over “completely unacceptable” Charlotte weekend

Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain recently competed in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 race held on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. However, he had a tough time during the race and failed to secure his spot in the next phase of the playoffs. Later, during a post-race interview, he expressed his emotions on the same.

The #1 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver qualified tenth for the 109-lap main event at Charlotte. He completed his fastest lap of the 2.28-mile road course in 86.68 seconds, reaching a top speed of 94.69 mph. Ross Chastain had a decent start in the 109-lap race. He was moving up in stage one and finished in P5.

Following that, he moved one more spot and wrapped stage two in P4 behind Chase Elliott. However, the final stage surprised him, and he was caught speeding in the pits. Ultimately, the governing body sent him to the back of the pack.

To make matters worse, the Trackhouse Racing driver had a run-in with Denny Hamlin on the final lap. The duo spun backwards before taking the checkered flag. Reflecting on his unlucky day, Chastian told the NBC Sports media:

“I’d restart the whole day. For Trackhouse Racing, they expect so much more out of me. And to speed on pit road, I went off the end of pit road and didn’t turn. I had more room and just trying to get to the yellow line. and just completely started the downfall there, and then came out of the pit stall and double-clicked up into third (gear) and Just unforced errors."

"It’s just terrible. So it’s heartbreaking for almost 200 employees at Trackhouse, our teammates, our ECR engines. Everybody that makes this go around. Justin (Marks) hired me to carry this 1 car and to drive it and to be the leader, and I just completely unraveled our day. So, yeah, not acceptable. Like, just completely unacceptable,” he added.

Ross Chastain wrapped up the 248.52-mile race outside of the top 20 drivers in P21. This cost him his spot in the Round of Eight playoffs, giving Joey Logano the chance to advance to the next phase. Meanwhile, his Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen took home the victory.

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"The front tires were hot and needed to cool down": Ross Chastain opened up about his Coca-Cola 600 victory mentality

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain became the first Trackhouse Racing driver this season to land a playoff berth and the first to win a race for the team. He won the Coca-Cola 600 event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and later, during a post-race interview with Kaitlyn Vince, Chastain got candid about his mindset during the 600-mile race.

The #1 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver had to begin the race from the end of the pack in a backup car. However, he moved multiple spots and paved his way to the top. He took the lead in the final stage of the race and crossed the finish line ahead of Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron.

Reflecting on such an unexpected win, Ross Chastain explained his mindset behind winning the race:

"I thought that was it—I got there and I was loose, then I got tight, and I kind of thought, 'I tried really hard right there... that's kind of it. So I backed off a bit. The front tires were hot and needed to cool down. At the same time, I realized I was hot too, so I turned on my cool shirt—cold water starts pumping through the vest we wear. It helped me cool down and reset mentally." [04:21 onwards]

After the Charlotte ROVAL race, Ross Chastain currently ranks 11th in the Cup Series points table with 2172 points to his credit. He has secured one win, 11 top tens, three top fives, and four DNFs in 32 starts this season.