Ross Chastain eyes ‘big qualifying’ breakthrough amid Saturday woes: “We don't have answers. We have a lot of questions”

Ross Chastain is not happy with how his team has been qualifying lately. In his last three attempts, the Trackhouse Racing icon qualified 31st (Texas), 32nd (Talladega), and 35th (Bristol). However, in those three attempts, he amassed a pair of top-10s, one of which is a runner-up finish.

What exactly is the reason behind his lackluster qualifying efforts? The driver of the No. 1 Chevy Camaro has no answers, and neither does his team.

“We don't have answers, we have a lot of questions and that's the problem.” Chastain said during a recent interview with NASCAR reporter Steve Taranto. (0:25)

Detailing the same, he further added,

“I just want to see the second pace car when I'm rolling off the grid. I can't even see that guy ... We're a competitive group and we're not happy with Saturday." (0:46)

11 races into the 2025 season, Ross Chastain has been able to pick up two top-fives and a total of six top-10s. He sits 11th in the driver standings with 281 points to his name and is currently vying for his first win of the season.

Winning a race will automatically put him in the playoffs, which will kick off on August 31 with the crown jewel Southern 500 race at Darlington Raceway. But for now, Chastain will prepare for this coming weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway.

Named AdventHealth 400, the 267-lap race has been scheduled for Sunday, May 11. Fans can watch it on Fox Sports 1, 3 pm ET onwards, or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Notably, Chastain’s most recent performance at Kansas resulted in a win, marking his lone victory at the 1.6-mile, tri-oval intermediate speedway.

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“The reality has shown up”- Former Cup Series champion calls out Ross Chastain’s NASCAR team

In a recent episode of the Happy Hour Podcast, show host and 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick reflected on Ross Chastain’s qualifying woes. He implied that Trackhouse Racing was responsible for Chastain’s not-so-great qualifying runs.

“You look at the Chastain pit crew, they’re ranked 16th,” said Harvick (as quoted by Yardbarker). “So, they’ve been doing a decent job on pit road, but they have not been doing a decent job in qualifying.”

“This was the first time I’ve ever heard Ross Chastain get out of that race car and voice his displeasure with the way that the cars felt… the reality has showed up, and that is they struggle on qualifying day,” Harvick added.

Even Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic said (on The Teardown podcast) that Trackhouse Racing has not been able to bring fast cars to the track in recent weeks. The way he saw it, the finishes that Chastain and his teammate Daniel Suarez accumulated so far in the season were all without their team’s support.