Ross Chastain Makes Debut With New Team at COTA

Getty Ross Chastain will pull double-duty at COTA.

The Melon Man is pulling double-duty during the trip to Circuit of the Americas. Ross Chastain will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start for DGM Racing while gaining more experience at the Texas road course.

DGM Racing announced the news on March 23 and confirmed that Chastain will take over the No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro one week after Kyle Weatherman turned in an eighth-place finish in the entry at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Chastain will have support from TicketSmarter as he makes his second-ever Xfinity Series start at COTA. He previously drove the No. 07 entry for SS GreenLight Racing at the road course during the 2021 season.

“I love to race, I love to compete,” Chastain said in a press release. “When Mario (Gosselin) called and offered me an opportunity to drive his No. 92 Chevrolet, it was without hesitation, ‘absolutely yes.’ We’ve had three solid races in a row on the Cup side with Trackhouse Racing. COTA is a challenging track, and the more seat time I can get before hopping in the No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet on Sunday, the better.

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“I can’t thank Justin (Marks) and Ty (Norris) enough for allowing me to be true to myself and race whenever the opportunity presents itself. I’ve always had a lot of respect for what the DGM Racing group does week-in and week-out and it’ll be fun going to battle with them Saturday at COTA.”


DGM Racing Will Bring 3 Entries to COTA

Chastain will replace Weatherman in the No. 92 for the Pit Boss 250 on March 26 (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1). He will join two other drivers at the track in Alex Labbe and Preston Pardus, who will drive the No. 36 and No. 91 entries, respectively.

Pardus will make his season debut while replacing Mason Massey in the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro. He made eight starts for DGM Racing during the 2021 season, including the inaugural Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas, where he turned in a 14th-place finish. Pardus also finished seventh overall at the Charlotte Roval while focusing on a road course-heavy schedule.

Labbe, for comparison, will make his fifth start of the year after failing to qualify for the opening race at Daytona International Speedway. He has three consecutive top-20 finishes in the No. 36, and he will strive to keep this trend at a track where he qualified fourth overall in 2021 before finishing 20th.


Chastain Has Extensive Experience in the Xfinity Series

Ross Chastain

GettyRoss Chastain celebrates a win at Daytona International Speedway.

The Florida native will make his first Xfinity Series start of the year, but it will be his 193rd overall. He has extensive experience in the series split between teams such as JD Motorsports with Gary Keller and Kaulig Racing.

Chastain has reached Victory Lane multiple times during his time in the Xfinity Series. He captured the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2018 while making limited starts for Chip Ganassi Racing. He turned in a dominant performance while leading 180 of the 200 laps and holding off Justin Allgaier at the end.

Chastain returned to Victory Lane one year later while driving part-time for Kaulig Racing and focusing on the Truck Series season. He qualified fourth overall for the second race at Daytona International Speedway and won after leading 49 laps. Kaulig Racing actually turned in a one-two finish as Justin Haley ended the day second overall.

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