Getty Justin Marks watches practice at Circuit of the Americas.
Justin Marks has been vocal with his support of Ross Chastain since bringing the Florida native to Trackhouse Racing. He will continue to be, but he will also take a more active role in Chastain’s continued development.
Marks provided the comments to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. He reacted to the late squeeze move that led to Chastain and Kyle Larson wrecking, and he explained how it was bad for everyone involved, especially considering that there was an opportunity to win at a legendary track.
While @JustinMarksTH belief in @RossChastain’s talent remains unchanged, he says this latest incident at Darlington is cause for concern.
🗣️ “He’s got some things he’s got to clean up. We, today, started a process of more aggressively handling that.” #NASCAR
“Ross clears Kyle and makes that pass and wins the Throwback Weekend at Darlington seven days after getting in a scuffle on pit road, the guy’s a legend,” Marks said on May 15. “He’s got the skills to do that. He’s got the ability to do that. The result was just bad.
“It just was bad for everybody. It was bad for Hendrick, it was bad for Chevrolet, and it was bad for Trackhouse and Ross as the points leader. This has been my life today. We have addressed it, we’ve had conversations with many different people today, some difficult conversations.
“I think the important message here is that we are a believer in Ross’ talent, that’s obvious. He’s very fast, but he’s got some things he’s got to clean up. I mean, I’ll just be totally honest with you. And we today started the process of more aggressively handling that.”
Marks Has Had ‘Difficult Conversations’ in the Past
GettyJustin Marks has been pivotal in Chastain’s growth.
Taking a more active role in Chastain’s continued growth as a driver is nothing new for Marks. He also did so after a difficult start to the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Chastain’s first two starts for Trackhouse Racing did not play out as the organization hoped. He crashed in the Daytona 500 and finished 40th. He then finished 29th at Auto Club Speedway, a track where he crashed during practice and then spun during the final stage of the race.
These two finishes led to Chastain dropping to 40th in the championship standings after the first two weeks. It also led to a lunch with Marks that completely changed the season.
“It was not the most pleasant lunch, I’ll be honest,” Chastain said at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2023. “I did text him this week on Tuesday and said I was happy we weren’t having our second annual post-Auto Club lunch. I went and ate there by myself just to do it and for the reminder that it could be that again. It could be not as good as we have it right now and to enjoy the moment.
“The circumstances around eating on the Tuesday after Auto Club one year apart was a total 180,” Chastain continued. “[Marks] did a lot of talking last year and I did a lot of listening. I didn’t have a lot of answers for him then, but we went back to work and started getting the ship righted. So I was really happy this year when I sat there alone and got to enjoy my lunch and then go back to work at the shop.”
Following this lunch, Chastain rattled off four consecutive top-three finishes. He capped off the stretch by winning his first career race at Circuit of the Americas.
As the season continued, Chastain continued delivering top-10 and top-five finishes while adding another win. He was aggressive, which led to friction with some other drivers, but he also performed when it counted. Chastain ultimately went on to reach the championship four and finish second in the standings behind Joey Logano.
Channeling the Fighting Spirit Will Be Crucial
GettyRoss Chastain signs autographs for NASCAR fans.
Marks will take a more active role with Chastain, but what will that look like? Will he try to rein in the driver of the No. 1 and make him less aggressive, or will he try to channel specific parts of his personality in a way that keeps him in contention for numerous wins?
That answer remains unclear, but it’s unlikely that Marks will try to completely change the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro. After all, Chastain is well on his way to winning the regular-season championship.
Channeling that willingness to battle on the track and unleashing it at the right time will be crucial. It has helped Chastain take the points lead, and it was one of the reasons why Trackhouse chose him in the first place after Marks purchased the two charters from Chip Ganassi Racing.
“Well, he’s got a lot of fight and a lot of want in him. And I tell people this,” Marks explained during a press conference in August 2021. “When there’s a nuance when you’re looking at drivers and you’re trying to determine what skill sets they’ve got and what kind of potential they have.
“To me, I’m a huge fan of people that have had to work hard against adversity and against odds to try to get there they have gotten in their careers. And I think it’s that fight in those years of working hard toward something when it’s very difficult along the way, that pays dividends at the Cup level, especially late in races when you’re sitting in good equipment.
“Sometimes you see these guys on a green-white-checkered and they have to top the field for their first win, which is one of the most difficult things to do in all of racing,” Marks added. “But it’s more than just those two laps. That driver has to dig down into everything he’s fought for in that moment to deliver. And Ross has that personality profile.”