Justin Marks describes the "magic" winning feeling after Ross Chastain’s Coca-Cola 600 triumph
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks shared his thoughts on the team's first win of the year courtesy of Ross Chastain. Marks described the Coca-Cola 600 triumph as "magical" after the team worked tirelessly through the weekend.
Ross Chastain was off to a bad start at Charlotte Motor Speedway after blowing a tire and crashing in practice. The incident caused the 32-year-old to miss the qualifying session, forcing the #1 team to start 40th in a backup car.
The crew worked on the secondary #1 Chevrolet Camaro overnight, even skipping their Memorial Day weekend time off to ensure the car was in tip-top shape for the race. Fortunately, all the hard work paid off after Chastain passed William Byron, who led for 283 of 400 laps, for the lead with six laps remaining and took the checkered flag.
Marks recalled the teamwork shown at the 1.5-mile North Carolina track in an interaction on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“It's so impressive and it's such a testament to what we at the company work so hard at and try to build this culture where everybody's all in,” said Marks. [at the start of the video]
After sharing how the team worked overtime on the primary car before the crash in practice, Marks shared the behind-the-scenes moments on Saturday night.
“The response from the company, everybody, all hands on deck, working at the race shop until 2:30 in the morning, Ross' mom was there, everybody came in, they ordered pizzas. [...] Couple guys went home, took showers, came right back, didn't sleep at all, finished off the (backup) car,” the team owner said. [0:51 onwards]
The Trackhouse Racing owner was overwhelmed by the result.
“The numbers looked pretty close (between the primary and backup cars), felt like we had something to work with, and then just magic. I don't know how else to describe it. It was a beautiful expression of teamwork and everything that we are all about at Trackhouse.” [1:17]
The first-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 was Ross Chastain's sixth NASCAR Cup Series victory and first crown jewel win. He had won in different types of racetracks, including Phoenix Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Circuit of the Americas.
With a win in his 2025 campaign, the #1 Trackhouse Racing team is set to return to the playoffs after missing out last year. Chastain's best postseason run was in 2022 when he made the Championship 4 following a controversial wall-riding move at Martinsville Speedway.
Ross Chastain applauded #1 Trackhouse Racing crew chief for race-winning efforts at Charlotte
After winning the Coca-Cola 600, Ross Chastain credited his crew chief, Phil Surgen, for their crucial last run at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He brought to light that Surgen “nailed” the balance of the car, allowing the #1 Chevy to make the pass for the lead.
“On the last run, Phil Surgen finally nailed the balance. It's the first time all night I said, 'You nailed it',” the 32-year-old Florida native said (via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) [0:47 onwards]
Behind Ross Chastain in the top 5 were William Byron, pole-sitter Chase Briscoe, A.J. Allmendinger, and Brad Keselowski. His Trackhouse Racing teammates, meanwhile, had tough outings. Shane van Gisbergen finished outside the top 10 in 14th, while Daniel Suarez settled with a DNF following a multi-car wreck on lap 245.