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NASCAR: Ross Chastain’s 2019 ride timeline

By Asher Fair

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 05: Ross Chastain, driver of the #4 Georgia Watermelon Association Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 05: Ross Chastain, driver of the #4 Georgia Watermelon Association Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images) /
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Ross Chastain has had a hectic last few months in terms of his rides for the 2019 NASCAR seasons. Here is a “brief” timeline.

Perhaps no NASCAR driver has had a more tumultuous last few months in terms of landing (and keeping) a ride or rides than Ross Chastain.

Let’s take a look at how the last few months have unfolded for the 26-year-old Alva, Florida native starting with last August.

Wednesday, August 23, 2018 – Chip Ganassi Racing confirm Chastain as the driver of the #42 Chevrolet in three races throughout the remainder of the 2018 Xfinity Series season. He is set to drive for the team in the September races at Darlington Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway and in the September round of 12 playoff race at Richmond Raceway. At this point, he has been a full-time Xfinity Series driver since the start of the 2015 season, but he has only ever driven for JD Motorsports during his time as a full-time driver.

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Saturday, September 1, 2018 – Chastain takes his first career Xfinity Series pole position for the 147-lap race at Darlington Raceway and goes on to lead 90 of its first 113 laps after entering the race with just 14 career laps led in 123 Xfinity Series starts. He finishes in 25th place, two laps off the lead, after being involved in a wreck with Kevin Harvick.

Saturday, September 15, 2018 – Chastain earns his first career Xfinity Series victory after starting the 200-lap race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in fifth place and leading 180 of its laps. He entered the race with 114 career laps led in 125 Xfinity Series starts.

Saturday, September 22, 2018, – Chastain drives the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet for the final time in the 2018 season in the race at Richmond Raceway and finishes it in second place after starting it in third.

Sunday, October 7, 2018 – Premium Motorsports announce that Chastain is set to drive the #15 Chevrolet on a full-time basis for the team in the 2019 Cup Series season after driving for the team in 34 of the 36 races on the 2018 schedule.

Friday, November 9, 2018 – Chip Ganassi Racing announce that Chastain is set to drive the #42 Chevrolet on a full-time basis for the team in the 2019 Xfinity Series season.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018 – JD Motorsports name Blake Koch as Chastain’s replacement behind the wheel of the #4 Chevrolet for the 2019 Xfinity Series season.

Thursday, December 20, 2018 – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents raid the home of Jeff Carpoff, the CEO of Chip Ganassi Racing primary sponsor DC Solar.

Friday, January 4, 2019 – Chip Ganassi Racing announce that they will not field the #42 Chevrolet in the 2019 Xfinity Series season due to lack of sponsorship funding.

Friday, January 18, 2019 – Niece Motorsports announce that Chastain is set to drive the #45 Chevrolet on a part-time basis for the team in the 2019 Truck Series season.

Thursday, January 31, 2019 – JD Motorsports confirm Chastain as the driver of the #4 Chevrolet for 30 races in the 2019 Xfinity Series season, as Koch announces that he will be stepping away from racing to focus on his business, FilterTime. Kaulig Racing confirm Chastain as the driver of the #10 Chevrolet for three races throughout the 2019 Xfinity Series season.

And that brings us up to now, just under two weeks until the start of the 2019 Truck Series season, two weeks until the start of the 2019 Xfinity Series season and just over two weeks until the start of the 2019 Cup Series season.

As of now, and this likely won’t change, Chastain is set to drive the #15 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet on a full-time basis in the Cup Series this season, and he will once again not be eligible to earn points once again as a result of the fact that he is set to compete full-time and earn points in the Xfinity Series this season once again as well.

Chastain is set to drive full-time in the Xfinity Series for two teams, which is what he did last season. He is set to drive the #4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet in 30 of the season’s 33 races once again, and he is set to drive the #10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in the other three.

He is also set to drive the #45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet on a part-time basis in the Truck Series. He drove part-time in the Truck Series last season as well, as he competed in seven races in total, including three driving for Niece Motorsports.

So after all of that, the only three changes to Chastain’s 2019 schedule from his 2018 schedule are the fact that he is set to drive in three races for Kaulig Racing as opposed to Chip Ganassi Racing in the Xfinity Series, the fact that he is set to drive in more than three races for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series and the fact that he is set to drive for Premium Motorsports in all 36 of the races on the 2019 Cup Series schedule after driving for the team in 34 of the 36 races on the 2018 schedule.

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The 2019 NASCAR Truck Series season is scheduled to begin on Friday, February 15 while the 2019 Xfinity Series season is scheduled to begin on Saturday, February 16 and the 2019 Cup Series season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, February 17. Be sure not to miss any of the action from any of these three series throughout the year.

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