NASCAR Truck Series: Ross Chastain has what it takes to win 2019 championship

Ross Chastain’s NASCAR Truck Series point-scoring eligibility is only set to begin this weekend. But he has everything it takes to not only get into the playoffs but to win the 2019 championship.

Ross Chastain opened up the 2019 NASCAR season having declared for points in the Xfinity Series. But after a hot eight-race start to the Truck Series season and not nearly as strong of a 12-race start to the Xfinity Series season, he has now declared for Truck Series points.

Chastain, who drives the #45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series, has propelled the #45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet to third place in the owner standings, second among trucks driven by only one driver, with his hot start to the 2019 season, a hot start that includes the first victory of his Truck Series career in the race at Kansas Speedway.

Now declared for Truck Series points, Chastain will not earn points for the races in which he already competed, and his victory will not go toward securing him a playoff berth.

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That said, the 26-year-old Alva, Florida native can still qualify for the eight-driver, seven-race playoffs if he can vault himself into the top 20 in the championship standings and win one of the regular season’s final eight races.

And he has everything he needs to get the job done.

Currently sitting in 20th place in the championship standings is JJL Motorsports’ Jesse Little, who has scored 91 points through the first half of the 2019 regular season. Meanwhile, Chastain has scored 321 owner points for the #45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet in these eight races.

Getting into the top 20 in the championship standings will likely not take Chastain more than a few races. Will he be able to win a race, however, to secure a playoff berth and launch himself into the championship discussion?

Absolutely.

Chastain has not finished outside of the top 10 all season thus far, and his average finishing position is an impressive 6.38, the best among full-time drivers. Additionally, he has proven that he has what it takes to compete at a high level when given a competitive car or truck in any NASCAR series.

He earned the first victory of his Xfinity Series career in just his second start driving for Chip Ganassi Racing last season after dominating his first start but being wrecked by Kevin Harvick late in the race. He then finished in second place in his third and final start driving for the team last season before landing a full-time ride with the team for this season, only to lose that full-time ride before the season began as a result of sponsorship issues.

Driving for Niece Motorsports, he has proven he can run well, contend for victories and win races, and all he needs to do is win one of the next eight races to lock himself into the playoffs.

From there, the sky is the limit.

Will Ross Chastain win one of the eight remaining races on the 16-race 2019 NASCAR Truck Series regular season schedule and finish the regular season in the top 20 in the championship standings to lock up a playoff berth?

Given his recent success, there is no reason to believe he can’t, and with that in mind, there is no reason he can’t advance through the playoffs into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and win this year’s championship.