Ross Chastain has openly acknowledged that he needs to improve in the art of turning left and right as NASCAR continues to bring the Cup Series to city streets. Doing so between concrete barriers isn't something he can work on at a traditional driving school, so he is taking a different approach.
"Lean on my teammate, both of them," Chastain told AltDriver at EchoPark Speedway. "I got two of the best -- really with Connor (Zilisch), three -- I believe, of the best road course racers in the sport.
"So I'm the weak link and I know that and I study them."
Who are these teammates? The list includes Sonoma winner Daniel Suarez, who has been with Trackhouse Racing since 2021. It also includes three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who won his first Cup start on the streets of Chicago as well as the inaugural Cup race in Mexico City.
The third teammate is rising prospect Connor Zilisch, who has three Xfinity Series wins in 20 starts. Two of these wins were at road courses.
Chastain has put in extensive work to improve at more traditional road course racing throughout his NASCAR career. He has particularly worked with Skip Barber Racing School over the years while pursuing consistency at Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International, the Charlotte Roval, and any other road course that NASCAR has added to the schedule.
These efforts have paid off, especially as he has controlled better equipment.
"Road courses in general, turning left and right, I feel comfortable, I feel confident when I roll on track that I can use what I've learned and implement different strategies," Chastain said. "High (minimum) speed, entry value, exit value, proximity to the curbs."
Chastain scored top-10 finishes at Sonoma and Road America in 2021 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. He finished fourth in the rain-shortened race at Circuit of the Americas.
After moving to Trackhouse Racing in 2022, Chastain scored his first Cup Series win at COTA. He has continued to post top-fives and top-10s at NASCAR's various road courses. This includes four top-10s in five starts at Sonoma and four top-10s in five starts at COTA.
Photo credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography
Unfortunately for Chastain, NASCAR has not traditionally raced on street courses. Chicago only joined the schedule in 2023, and it has been the only street course on which he and his peers have competed. At least, for now.
He can't exactly go to a racing school to work on this unique skillset considering that these courses are purpose-built for the respective events.
The lack of training opportunities have combined with other factors such as inclement weather to create consistent results, albeit not the ones Chastain has sought. He has finished 22nd in both trips to Chicago. Although he improved his starting position from 34th in 2023 to 14th last season.
"Street courses, a whole other animal," Chastain said. "The proximity of the walls to me, being just basically the same distance left to right in 90-degree turns a lot -- a couple curved turns -- but mostly just 90 degrees from one street to the next.
"So not pleasant, not as comfortable for me, for sure, at street courses."
This weekend will provide Chastain with yet another opportunity to improve in the art of street course racing. Will his extensive discussions with his Trackhouse Racing teammates lead to better results, or will he finish 22nd for a third consecutive season?
The answer remains unknown, but one thing is certain -- Chastain will be able to go all out in pursuit of the win after previously locking himself into the playoffs with a Coca-Cola 600 win. He doesn't need to play the points strategy game.