AUSTIN, TX. -- Ross Chastain can finally check off a goal that he set for himself back during the 2014 NASCAR season. He gets to control a JR Motorsports car in an Xfinity Series race.
"The very first time I saw a JRM car on track in Charlotte in 2014, I saw it go through the corner, and I said, 'I want to be in one of those cars because that's amazing what it just did,'" Chastain told media members Saturday at Circuit of the Americas.
"Like the way it went through and how it was handling and the yaw of it and the grip it was making, I wanted that. And it took until 2025 to get it. It's been a long time coming."
This opportunity to drive a JR Motorsports car took Chastain more than a decade to secure, but he has made the most of it at Circuit of the Americas. He qualified second overall at the Texas road course in Friday's session and set himself up to contend early in Saturday's race.
Not that Chastain qualifying well at Circuit of the Americas is something strange. He has qualified second overall in three attempts with three different Xfinity Series teams.
Chastain first secured his spot on the front row for the 2021 Xfinity race. He drove an SS GreenLight Racing car that day. One year later, he put a DGM Racing car on the front row. Now, he has repeated this feat with a JR Motorsports car.
"I know at least with (Bobby Dotter) and JRM, we weren't locked into the field, so going out for qualifying, I was like, 'All right, I just need to make the field,'" Chastain said. "'Don't lock a tire, blow a tire before I complete a lap because then I'll go home.'
"So with Bobby, I got in right before we practiced and qualified in second. That was a cool day. It was just as cool to do it yesterday with JRM."
Now that Chastain is in the show, he can check off his goal of driving for JR Motorsports. This will only be his first of multiple starts for the championship-winning organization, but it will remain memorable. You only get to make your first start one time.
Of course, pulling double duty at Circuit of the Americas is about more than just checking off this career goal. Chastain acknowledged that he had an opportunity to get extra seat time on the new COTA layout before trying to win his second Cup race at the Texas track.
"I get a lot of value out of it, and I love racing," Chastain said. "So I can be on the same track on the same weekend as the Cup car. One, I'm getting to do what I love and live out my dream."