MADISON, Ill — A simple gesture post-race from Ross Chastain last week was the biggest thing that came out of Trackhouse Racing at Darlington Raceway. It was a big old thumbs-down after a nightmare for the organization, as they brought three different setups to The Lady in Black with none of them rising above 26th in the final standings.
Turns out one week of bad blood out in the open is all they needed to close the gap on everyone else.
Sunday’s (Sept. 13) Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway was a huge step in the right direction for the team, a race in which all three cars ran inside the top 10 for large portions of the event. Both Chastain and Connor Zilisch finished fifth and seventh, respectively, each driver having a late chance to challenge for the win.
“It was better than… you know, last weekend at Darlington,” said Zilisch.
Indeed.
It almost looked to be a three-for-three top-10 day for Trackhouse until Shane van Gisbergen got spun late on the first overtime restart. That turned out to be the 18th and final caution in a chaotic marathon of a NASCAR Cup Series race.
“I hate that Shane got wrecked there at the end,” said Zilisch. “Just unfortunate that happened, but still a good day for us nonetheless.”
Zilisch scored just his second career Cup Series top 10 in what’s been a rough rookie season. Seventh ties his best finish that he got earlier this season at Sonoma Raceway.
Chastain was all smiles when getting out of the car and was relieved to get this kind of result. Earlier in the weekend, Chastain mentioned that the goal for the team has never changed and they feel like they can win any weekend they’re at the track.
“After the summer and the year we’ve had, that is what we’re looking for,” said Chastain. “I was in, full on just like we can race up there, that’s good after this year.”
It wasn’t smooth sailing for Chastain, though as he did have a spin during the race that he recovered from on route to his top-five result. The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet even led 15 laps, his third-most in any race this season as the non-Chase eligible driver looks to build a foundation for 2027.
“To stay out on old tires there in stage three after spinning out,” Chastain added, “And be able to hang on up there, and actually race around those guys was really, really good.”
Chastain mentioned they will be diving into what made them better this weekend later on in the week. But right now, both he and Zilisch are going to savor this great result and hope to carry it on for the rest of the year.
“Right now, it just means the Busch Lights are for a good thing and not a bad thing,” said the Busch Light-sponsored Chastain. “We have them ever after every race, it’s just right now they’re gonna feel like they’re for a reward.”
Better than the other way around.
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