Trackhouse reveals “Herculean effort” to organize backup automobile forward of huge win

Maybe extra spectacular than Ross Chastain driving from final to first to win the Coca-Cola 600 was the work his workforce needed to put in simply get the race-winning automobile ready on Sunday.

Chastain crashed on account of a tire failure in observe, forcing the Trackhouse Racing Staff to scramble as they ready the backup automobile. The automobile was meant to be a backup for subsequent weekend’s race at Nashville and lots of modified wanted to be and in a single day. Crew chief Phil Surgen admitted to solely sleeping for about “two-and-a-half hours” earlier than the marathon race on Sunday. 

Chastain himself stayed with the workforce till round 10pm on Saturday when Trackhouse competitors director Tony Lunders was “actually pushing me out, saying, ‘go residence, fall asleep, I would like you to be prepared tomorrow evening.'”

Whereas Chastain lastly went residence to relaxation, the workforce remained, burning the midnight oil as they ready the automobile that will in the end win NASCAR’s longest race. However earlier than they might even get to work on that. almost 90 minutes had been spent on the first automobile earlier than they realized they weren’t going to have the ability to repair it.

“As we begin pulling components off, it simply turned extra evident that there was a piece of the rear body that was bent in all probability past restore,” defined Surgen [Chastain’s crew chief]. “Then at that second it turned a necessity to go to a backup automobile.

“Sadly, that was in all probability an hour or an hour and a half after we obtained to the storage and had already began engaged on repairing the first automobile. Though it took a very long time to determine, by the point we obtained all of the components and the automobile disassembled to the purpose the place we might absolutely see all of the harm, it was evident we would have liked to return to the automobile.”

Folks dropped every little thing to come back and assist

Surgen additionally defined the way it was a complete workforce effort in the long run as round 30 individuals got here in to assist after taking the backup automobile again to the race store.

“We had clearly all of the highway crew that was on the monitor was there. We had engine assist from ECR. We had store guys that had been at concert events and ball video games and every little thing that simply dropped what they had been doing, got here to the store,” revealed Surgen.

“Like I mentioned, in all probability 30 individuals there at 8:30pm (Saturday) evening. Because the evening wore on and completely different phases of the method form of advanced, we despatched a few of these guys residence, and the final of us, there have been in all probability eight or ten of us that left at 2:30am final evening. The primary guys obtained again there at 5:30am.”

What wanted to be performed

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Picture by: Logan Riely / Getty Pictures

However what really wanted to be performed in an effort to get the backup automobile race-ready? Surgen mentioned they started with a “absolutely assembled automobile” however it had no engine in it. There have been numerous different modifications wanted to get it prepared for 600 miles at Charlotte when it was solely meant for a 400-mile race at Nashville.

“Once we obtained there, there was actually a ton of labor to do. We put little bit of inside in it. We modified the transaxle. We had to make use of the engine from the first automobile that was on the racetrack. Then there’s the wrap, ultimate set on suspension, ultimate set on the physique, after which ultimate scale and such, all these last-minute changes. Variety of hours, it is laborious to say. Like I discussed earlier to the gentleman over there, we had 30 individuals working there for some time, and into the evening that dwindled all the way down to perhaps ten. , it was a ton of man hours within the final 36 hours that went into the automobile we had as we speak.

Staff proprietor Justin Marks praises the exceptional effort

Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Picture by: David Jensen / Getty Pictures

Staff proprietor Justin Marks was surprised by the hassle by each driver and workforce as they celebrated their first win of the 2025 season.

“This weekend I believe was a grasp class in by no means giving up and grinding,” mentioned Marks. “It wasn’t simply the #1 Staff that constructed that automobile final evening. It was individuals from all corners of the group that mentioned, I am going to drop what I am doing and drive to the store and assist, as a result of we have all been working so laborious the final month, month and a half to kind of flip this workforce round

“I stood in entrance of all people at this group the primary day that I took possession of it again on the finish of 2021, and I mentioned, you understand, We have now every little thing that we must be profitable right here. We simply need to work collectively. We have now to imagine in one another, and we have now to basically imagine that we will do it, that we will go win large races and contend for championships. If we assist one another and go the additional mile and do no matter it takes, then we will get there.

“I believe this weekend was an exquisite expression of that, and I’m so — I do not wish to sound romantic, however I’m simply so unbelievably happy with all people as a result of what they did this weekend was very, very, very troublesome. It was really a workforce win. Placing a race automobile collectively — constructing a race automobile final evening, bringing it to the racetrack, beginning final, making good modifications, good pit stops, good technique, and simply placing it on the shoulders of our superb race automobile driver, Ross Chastain, to punch it into victory lane. It is unbelievable.”

Pictures from Charlotte – Race