Every driver dreams of winning the Daytona 500. For Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, however, there is added pressure to perform in The Great American Race as his displays in the previous races at the Daytona International Speedway have mostly been lackluster. The question is – will the driver of the #1 be able to break his Daytona curse on Monday, or will it be more of the same?

While he was nowhere close to winning the championship last season, Chastain finished off the 2023 season on a high note. The driver of the #1 car frustrated the likes of Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson to hold on to his lead in the championship race in Phoenix, closing out the season with a morale-boosting victory. He will be looking to start this year where he left off in November, but that is easier said than done.

Ross Chastain is yet to have a top-5 Cup Series finish at Daytona

Thanks to his performance in Phoenix, the Watermelon Man will have a certain degree of confidence going into the season-opener, which was postponed to Monday due to poor weather. The driver of the #1 car has taken part in numerous races at the Daytona International Speedway in the Cup Series with different teams. However, he has never impressed to the point where people remember his performance.

According to Driver Averages, the 31-year-old has started 17 races so far at the iconic venue and has never managed to finish in the top 5. He has 5 top-10 finishes, the best of which was a P7 on Valentine’s Day in 2021 when he was a driver for Chip Ganassi Racing. The Watermelon Man will be looking to improve this statistic at the end of the 66th running of the Daytona 500.

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“This race stands out,” the Trackhouse Racing star had said as per The Daytona Beach News-Journal. “It just holds so much value and in my heart and mind, for what that speedway did for this sport when the France family and NASCAR built it so long ago, I view it as a real catalyst for the sports and it’s a part of the foundation that we stand on today and it’s still relevant. … The nerves are real. It’s really hard to go to sleep, but it’s so awesome to wake up on Sunday morning of the Daytona 500.”

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Winning The Great American Race would mean a lot to Ross Chastain, but he will have his work cut out for him as his starting position is P21. Chastain has always been a fan of the Daytona 500, but he recently revealed that as a kid, he believed that he would end up as a watermelon farmer instead of racing at the Daytona International Speedway.

Will the Trackhouse Racing star achieve the second part of his dream?

Unlike a lot of racers in the sport today, the driver of the #1 car does not come from a family of racers. He is the first of his generation and while that is something special; it brings with it a lot of challenges. Speaking to FOX, Chastain revealed that despite growing up so near the track, it was not until he was a teenager that he started dreaming of becoming a competitor in the 500, and today, his dream has come true several times over.

“I actually didn’t dream about racing in it, because I was just a casual race fan. I was gonna be a watermelon farmer. That’s what I was gonna do. Once I started racing at 12 years old. That’s where the light turned on. I want to be a race car driver. I want to beat the guys that I’ve watched. I want to race against them and beat them,” the 31-year-old revealed.

It’s funny how things work out for the better for some people and it always makes for a good story. But racing in the Daytona 500 and being successful in it are two different things. Ross Chastain has achieved the first part of this dream. Now, it’s time to go out there and win the biggest race of the year.

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