Ross Chastain expresses concern over Trackhouse Racing qualifying speed

After the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas, Ross Chastain was particularly negative about the speed his Chevy has had lately. Does Trackhouse Racing have a speed issue that is holding back, not just Chastain, but the entire roster this season?

Ross Chastain is still 11th overall in points. He has six top-10 finishes in 11 starts this season. Daniel Suárez is 25th in points, with Shane van Gisbergen 35th overall in points. Only ahead of Cody Ware among full-time drivers. Not great.

Much of the struggle starts on Saturday in qualifying. Chastain talked openly about the issues the organization is having with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier today.

“Just because we were good last week doesn’t mean we’ll continue to be good,” Chastain explained. “I told them, I’m ready to get off these lists because I’m tired of having to pass so many cars. I just want to show up, like every race car driver, have the car closer. We’ve just been off. I mean, it’s no secret. We’re not sugarcoating it to ourselves or anybody. And that’s not always been my M.O. to talk about it, but I’ve always been a glass half-full guy, but just consistently qualifying in the 30s in all three Trackhouse cars, not – well, Daniel’s been leading the charge in the mid-20s.

“That’s just not, it’s not acceptable for what we have, the resources we have. We will, and we’re working, and I believe we will get that turned around. And we’re still going to have off days on Saturday, but consistently we need to see some light in the tunnel that’s pretty dark on Saturday right now.”

Ross Chastain wants Saturdays to be fixed

It doesn’t matter if Ross Chastain is able to drive from P25 to P7 every week. If he can’t start in the top-10 on a regular basis, he has little chance of winning races this season. That is just a fact. He has to be given the opportunity to succeed.

Right now, Trackhouse can’t do that. Not for Chastain or Suárez or SVG.

“We’re so driven to change our Saturdays and get, we want to continue executing on Sunday, because ultimately the finish is everything,” Chastain continued on the radio. “I know stage points mean a lot and there’s people thriving on that right now, but really, you gotta finish good. So, it’s a great spot to be in.

“It’s not lost on me that not that long ago, I would have been really happy with these performances, but we’ve elevated ourselves at Trackhouse and with Chevrolet to a spot that we’re not okay with struggling at any part of these weekends. Especially when it’s continual and it’s repeated, I’ll say, failures on Saturday, that we’re just, we’re not gonna stand for that.”

Ross Chastain wants better. Will he get it from Trackhouse, Chevy, and ECR Engines?