DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ross Chastain, one of the stars of Cup last year, has signed a new contract with Trackhouse Racing.
The team announced Thursday afternoon that Chastain, who won two races last season, has signed what it called a “long-term, multi-year” contract. Team president Ty Norris said Chastain will be with the team until “his beard turns gray.”
The announcement follows by one day Trackhouse saying that it had signed a multi-year deal with Daniel Suarez, Chastain’s teammate.
“What we’re trying to do in this sport is establish ourselves as a year-in, year-out competitor and organization that can win championships and be a great destination for our partners and the people who work here,” team owner Justin Marks said. “It starts with the two guys who hold the steering wheel and making them feel like they have a home here.”
Several teams have worked out new deals with drivers in recent weeks. Chase Briscoe signed with Stewart-Haas Racing, and Alex Bowman extended with Hendrick Motorsports.
Chastain won races at the Circuit of the Americas and Talladega Superspeedway last year and created one of the season’s highlights by using a last-lap “Hail Melon” move at Martinsville Speedway to qualify for the final race in the playoffs. He finished second to series champion Joey Logano last year.
“I was a fan of his for so long,” Marks said of Chastain. “Trackhouse gets formed. The acquisition of Chip Ganassi happens. I wanted really badly to tell Ross the day we acquired Ganassi he was going to drive for us. But there were a lot of moving parts to get through. I’ve always been a huge fan of his talent and his potential.”
Many of Chastain’s family members, including his four grandparents, and friends from his hometown of Alva, Fla., attended the contract announcement in the Daytona International Speedway media center.