Chastain interested in possibly exploring IndyCar

Ross Chastain loves his NASCAR job with Trackhouse Racing and has no plans for a new ride anytime soon, but he doesn’t deny wanting to potentially get behind the wheel of something other than a stock car.

On his Speed Street podcast earlier this week, Conor Daly revealed he and Chastain had a recent conversation about the NTT IndyCar Series. According to Daly, not only did Chastain share his interest in open-wheel racing, but had questions.

“It definitely was a serious conversation,” the Trackhouse driver said Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Our Cup simulator is right next to the Chevy IndyCar simulator, so I pass those guys weekly now and I just had some genuine questions. I wouldn’t even know where to start and I didn’t know what to ask him. He gave me a lot of advice; some definitely probably turned me away from it, but some (made me think) that’s attainable one day.”

Chastain is solely focused on Cup Series racing, though. Having scratched and clawed for every opportunity, he has settled in nicely at Trackhouse Racing, where he is finally in top equipment. Driving the No. 1 Chevrolet, Chastain had a breakout 2022 season with two wins and came up one spot short of a championship.

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“Every series is different, and every driver in those series has come up in a different way, so I just want to be exposed to (that),” said Chastain about IndyCar or any other racing opportunities. “I wish I could have raced 15 years ago in another country and could have gotten to experience that, and I see some kids getting to do that now, and they mainly come up through the open-wheel ladder.

“Us circle-track racers, Saturday night short track, we’re pretty much in the same box. I want to get outside of my comfort zone and get outside of the box.”

Aside from his chat with Daly and being asked about it at Las Vegas, Chastain was clear there have been no talks about him doing an IndyCar race. One day, however, he may not have to look too far to make it happen. Justin Marks, Chastain’s team owner, has previously said IndyCar is just one area he’s open to exploring taking the Trackhouse brand.

“With Justin Marks and Trackhouse, you never know,” Chastain laughed about doing something one day, but not anytime soon. “I would be open for it, but no, no plans. I just had genuine questions.”

As for what Daly said that turned Chastain off about IndyCar racing? “The business side.”