This weekend Ross Chastain will climb behind the wheel of the No. 1 Kubota Tractor Corporation Chevrolet Camaro for a 400-mile race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The two-mile oval is one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Kubota Tractor Corporation first appeared on Chastain’s No. 1 Chevy last year at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. The Alva, Florida, native finished second in the orange-and-black paint scheme in a thrilling race for the first-year partner at Trackhouse Racing.
Chastain is looking for redemption at Auto Club after wrecking two cars during the weekend last year. The first in practice after he hit a bump, got loose and over-corrected while trying to learn the new model of the car. The second incident happened during the race on Sunday. A top-10 finish this weekend in the Kubota livery and the additional four races they’ll adorn the car would mean a donation to charity.
In the five races Kubota is serving as the primary sponsor of Chastain’s No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet, a $10,000 donation will be made to the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) for a top-10 finish.
The FVC is a national nonprofit organization that assists military veterans and currently serving members of the Armed Forces to transition into careers in farming. Kubota first partnered with the FVC in 2015 on the “Geared to Give” program which has provided $800,000 to the coalition in the form of organizational support, grants to veterans and 36 pieces of donated equipment.
The Auto Club race marks the first of three consecutive races on the west coast for the NASCAR Cup Series after the 65th running of the Daytona 500 last Sunday.
Daytona was busy last week on the track for Chastain, but it was also busy off the track. The team announced last Thursday a multi-year contract extension with Chastain who is in his second year driving for Trackhouse.
Chastain heads to the Fontana, Calif., track coming off of a ninth-place finish at Daytona. The Chevy driver survived two accidents to earn his third top-10 result in the 500-mile race. His eighth-place finish at the LA Clash earlier this month, and last weekend’s Daytona finish have his season off to a great start.
Looking ahead to next month, Chastain will appear at Kubota’s display at the Construction Expo in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 16.
Fox will broadcast Sunday’s 200 lap race at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Ross Chastain, Driver of the No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet
When you look back at how things went at Auto Club last year and then how the season ended, what do you think?
“I thought I better figure out how not wreck racecars. It was such a tough way to start the year last year. The cars supply was so limited then and I wrecked two that weekend. I’m so happy we were able to regroup, and everybody continued to believe in me. We got the ship righted and went on to get a couple of wins and have a shot at a championship. That was awesome. I certainly lived through all kinds of emotions last year.”
How do you feel your season is going so far?
“Making the main event at the Clash was an improvement over last year and I have to say that not destroying a car at Daytona and finishing the race felt great. Looks like the weather will be pretty challenging for us this weekend, but I’m looking forward to a less eventful weekend this year at Auto Club compared to last year. I’m focused with the great group of people around me and its been a good start to the season so far.”
How cool is it to have Kubota as partner?
“Someone asked me if I could pick partners, who would I want to work with. I told them any brand associated with agriculture would be awesome. Agriculture and watermelon farming have been such a huge part of my life. I enjoy the natural connection with Kubota. Meeting their people who all have different types of responsibilities and involvement in the company has been awesome. I’ve also been able to connect with dealers and customers at various events and it’s cool to swap stories with them.”
Chastain Notes
2023 marks Chastain’s third full-time Cup Series season. The Chevrolet driver’s first Cup Series start occurred in 2017.
In 2022, Chastain won his first career Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 27 and his second at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 24.
The Chevrolet driver finished second in the season ending championship standings.
Voted 2022 National Motorsports Press Association’s Driver of the Year.
Known for the “Hail Melon” move at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway that has garnered over 225 million views and 1.2B impressions.
Moose car from Martinsville topped all diecasts in sales for 2022.
Chastain owns 197 Xfinity Series starts with two wins (Las Vegas in Sept. 2018, and Daytona in July 2019), 23 top-five and 49 top-10 finishes.
The Florida native has 100 Craftsman Truck Series starts with four wins, three earned in 2019, and one in 2022 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 19 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes.
Chastain joined Trackhouse Racing for the 2022 season after Chip Ganassi Racing was acquired last off season by Justin Marks.
Chastain has driven for Premium Motorsports, Spire Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing in the Cup Series before his first full-time season in 2021.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
