Editor‘s note: This continues a series where we review the top 20 drivers in 2023 NASCAR Cup Series points.
Season in review: Ross Chastain
No. 1, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet
Crew Chief: Phil Surgen
Final 2023 Ranking: 9th
Key stats: Two wins, 10 top fives, 14 top 10s, 640 laps led, one pole position
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How 2023 ended: Chastain earned his second career — and second consecutive — NASCAR Cup Series playoff berth thanks to a pair of wins — at Nashville and Phoenix and finished ninth in the championship standings. Although short of the big season trophy, Chastain‘s season still ended in Victory Lane with the popular driver claiming the win in the season finale. Unfortunately, he was eliminated from championship contention by that point after an uncharacteristically tough playoff run that included a pair of DNFs — crashes at Talladega and the Floridian‘s “home track” in Homestead-Miami. He had four top-10 finishes in the 10-race playoff run but also three worse than 20th place. Chastain closed out his second season with Trackhouse Racing by lead 157 of 312 laps at Phoenix and is the only driver in the series technically on a “winning streak” to start 2024.
Best race: Statistically speaking, Chastain‘s most impressive outing was his career first win at Nashville Speedway from pole position. He led a race-best 99 laps and eased to almost a one-second victory over Martin Truex Jr. to officially claim a Playoff berth and take over second place in the season standings.
RELATED: Ross Chastain scores first win of 2023 at Nashville Superspeedway
Other season highlights: Chastain equaled his career-best win total (two) by scoring multiple victories for the second straight season. To that end, he led the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings for seven weeks and was ranked either first or second for 12 weeks — a full third of the season. He led at least 90 laps in a race five times and that pole position in Nashville was a career first.
Stat to Know: While he fell short of his career-best numbers in 2022, Chastain still turned in a season to remember and equaled his best win total (two). His lead lap finishes (28) is a career-best mark, and he also topped the 600-laps led threshold for a second consecutive year. Only four drivers bettered his 10 top-five total.
Quotable: “I don‘t really know how to comprehend that maybe in a couple years we‘re still doing this. I‘m human. I go back to my past. I‘ve had things taken away that were a sure bet. I thought it was a one-direction all the way up the mountain. Had to go find another mountain to climb. We found it. We‘re climbing it. I feel as long as I get up, do my best, put my work in, go to work and surround myself with good people, trust our processes. … we‘ll see.‘‘
RELATED: Ross Chastain dominates Phoenix Cup finale
Looking ahead: Although Chastain obviously would have liked to advance farther in the championship, he did achieve his first career pole position, led more than 600 laps and proved his resiliency at the end of the season, hoisting a trophy even when he was out of playoff contention. Statistically, Chastain proved both his consistency and his resiliency. He now has victories on a diverse set of tracks, from road courses (Austin) to superspeedways (Talladega) to the 1.33-miler at Nashville and the Phoenix mile. It showed that his amazing championship runner-up showing in 2022 was absolutely not a fluke and instead the establishment of a driver ready and skilled to contend for the title year after year.