There are a multitude of reasons why Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth in Daytona is an important week in the life of No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain.
For a NASCAR Cup Series driver and his manufacturer, no trophy surpasses the hardware awarded in victory lane at the Daytona 500. If Chastain hoists that trophy Sunday, it will mark his first and Chevrolet’s 25th Daytona 500 victory.
It will also mark Chevrolet’s 50th Cup Series victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The Great American Race in front of Florida race fans in his home state also holds special significance to the eighth-generation watermelon farmer from Alva, about 240 miles southwest of the track. Sunday’s race also marks the start of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Season and the 30-year-old Chastain seeks a fast start to the 38-race schedule.
Last year, Chastain couldn’t have started much worse nor could he have finished much better.
He finished last (40th) in Daytona after a lap-63 crash and 28th the following week at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. But in just his second full-time Cup season, Chastain exploded on the scene winning at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 27 and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 24 while posting 15 top-fives and 21 top-10s.
He finished just .301-seconds behind winner Joey Logano in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.
There will be a great deal of familiar faces around the No. 1 when it rolls onto the track for qualifying Wednesday night and in the qualifying Duels Thursday night. Every pit crew and race team member returns from the 2022 season on the Phil Surgen-led team.
They’ll also look the same.
The 2022 breakout driver of the year will pilot an AdventHealth Chevrolet for the third time at Daytona. The Altamonte Springs, Fla., company first partnered with Chastain at Daytona in 2020 when he was a part-time driver. AdventHealth will serve as primary sponsor a total of six times in 2023 as Chastain battles for the title.
It’s a big week for Chastain, FS1 and Fox will air every second of on-track action. Fox will broadcast Sunday’s 500-mile race at 2:30 p.m. EST.
Ross Chastain, Driver of the No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet
What are your goals for this year?
“I just want to be competitive. I have the desire to compete and I don’t want to get beat. It started with the Clash and it will end in Phoenix in November.”
Is there anything you’re more focused on this year compared to last?
“Qualifying is something I’m focused on for this year. I’ve really struggled with it throughout my career and being a teammate with Daniel, he sets the bar. So that’s definitely something I’m looking to improve on.”
How much do you look forward to coming to Daytona?
“I love it. It’s the sign of a new season going down there in February. We’ve worked hard all off season and it’ll be nice to get back in the routine and enjoy a little Florida sunshine. I grew up going to the July race at Daytona so I have fond memories of being at the track as a kid with my family.”
Can you talk about the difference this Daytona is going to feel like versus the 2022 Daytona?
“To start the season last year, so many things are different in all different aspects. I was with a different team, we had the new generation of the car and there were so many unknowns with that. Last year, the season certainly didn’t get off to a smooth start, but we stuck with it and regrouped with everyone and ended up with a great result to end the season. I think it goes to show that if you keep trying and put the effort in, you can make a difference.”
Chastain Notes
2023 marks Chastain’s third full-time Cup Series season. The Chevrolet driver’s first Cup Series start occurred in 2017.
In 2022, Chastain won his first career Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on March 27 and his second at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 24.
The Chevrolet driver finished second in the season ending championship standings.
Voted 2022 National Motorsports Press Association’s Driver of the Year.
Known for the “Hail Melon” move at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway that has garnered over 225 million views and 1.2B impressions.
Moose car from Martinsville topped all diecasts in sales for 2022.
Chastain owns 197 Xfinity Series starts with two wins (Las Vegas in Sept. 2018, and Daytona in July 2019), 23 top-five and 49 top-10 finishes.
The Florida native has 100 Craftsman Truck Series starts with four wins, three earned in 2019, and one in 2022 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 19 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes.
Chastain joined Trackhouse Racing for the 2022 season after Chip Ganassi Racing was acquired last off season by Justin Marks.
Chastain has driven for Premium Motorsports, Spire Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing in the Cup Series before his first full-time season in 2021.
AdventHealth’s role is more than just as a partner to Chastain and the Trackhouse Racing team. AdventHealth fully staffs and provides services to drivers and fans throughout the race week in the care center, as well as the first aid stations around the track.
AdventHealth has an injector along the frontstretch of the 2.5-mile speedway. The injector is built upon the principle of CREATION Health, an eight-principle acronym that defines the way AdventHealth provides Whole Person Care to include mind, body and spirit.
Leading up to Speedweeks, AdventHealth has engaged their Central Florida Division, which includes AdventHealth Daytona Beach, AdventHealth New Smyrna, AdventHealth Palm Coast, AdventHealth Fish Memorial, AdventHealth Waterman, and AdventHealth Deland, through employee ticketing giveaways and hosting Daytona Day at each of these campuses where race-themed t-shirts were distributed to employees.
Employees wear their t-shirt every Friday leading up to Speedweeks Presented by AdventHealth. AdventHealth also ran an internal ticket giveaway coined, The Race to Recognition where employees could nominate a coworker to receive tickets to a Speedweeks event and enjoy pre-race hospitality in the AdventHealth fan zone prior to the race.
AdventHealth has a large footprint at Daytona. In the fan midway, fans can stop by the AdventHealth Fan Zone to learn more about careers at AdventHealth, enter for a chance to win autographed memorabilia from Chastain’s 2022 season, enjoy giveaways, and write notes of encouragement to health care workers on a No. 1 AdventHealth Chevy. Additionally in the space, as a way of showing appreciation, AdventHealth employees will have their own hospitality space with giveaways and refreshments throughout Speedweeks.
With a sacred mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth is a connected system of care for every stage of life and health. More than 80,000 skilled and compassionate caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and hospice centers provide individualized, holistic care. A shared vision, common values, focus on whole-person health, and commitment to making communities healthier unify the system’s over 50 hospital campuses in diverse markets throughout nine states. Visit AdventHealth.com for more information.
Justin Marks, Founder and Owner of Trackhouse Racing
Marks Business Career
Marks, 41, is the founder and team owner of Trackhouse Entertainment Group and Trackhouse Racing
He is a co-manager of Marks Family Foundation, with several different philanthropic endeavors. The family, led by father Michael Marks, has been a highly successful private equity leader in the Silicon Valley for years.
Before Trackhouse Racing, Marks opened the GoPro Motorplex (go kart) racing facility near Charlotte in late 2012. He entered race team ownership at lower levels, including a venture with late owner Harry Scott in NASCAR’s lower rungs, as well as a World of Outlaws team.
Marks moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2020 to set up the corporate headquarters for Trackhouse Racing.
The team competed as a single car team with Daniel Suárez in 2021 with its cars housed at Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, North Carolina.
The Trackhouse team won the 2021 NASCAR Diversity Team Award for its diversity in the sport and reaching out to new audiences.
In June of 2021, Trackhouse announced the acquisition of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR assets, a move that secured two full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries and cleared the path for expansion.
In its first season as a multicar team in 2022 working out of its Concord, North Carolina race shop, Suárez and Ross Chastain won three races in 2022. Chastain finished second and Suárez 10th in the standings – both are career bests.
Marks won the 2022 National Motorsports Press Association’s (NMPA) Myers Brothers Award during the 2022 NASCAR Awards in Nashville. The award recognizes individuals and/or groups that have provided outstanding contributions to stock car racing.
Marks won the 2022 “Byrnsie Award” from Fox. The award was established to celebrate an individual in the NASCAR Cup Series who showcases the same principles as the late Steve Byrnes embodied — preparation, teamwork and family within the garage area.
He is an investor in the Music City (Nashville) Grand Prix Indycar race.
Marks along with Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, purchased the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Tour in January. The professional Late Model and Late Model stock car grassroots series competes at local short tracks throughout the Southeast United States.
Marks now splits time between the North Carolina race shop and his home near Nashville where he and wife Erin are raising two daughters.
Marks Racing Career
Marks has been a driver for nearly 20 years enjoying sports car success, including factory rides with Porsche, Acura and BMW.
Marks competed in six NASCAR Cup Series races with a best finish of 12th-place in the 2018 Daytona 500. He made 35 starts in the Xfinity Series posting a win, three top-five and seven top-10s.
Marks won the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 13, 2016 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Marks competed in 39 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series posting four top-10s and capturing two pole awards.
Marks joined four co-drivers in winning the 2009 Rolex 24 in the GT division.
