NASCAR Needs Ross Chastain

The race at Kansas Speedway turned out to be more exciting than expected. A lot of the intrigue from the race revolves around the driver of Trackhouse’s 1 car: Ross Chastain. For what seems to be the norm, Chastain found himself in the center of drama throughout the race. Early in the race, Chastain and Kyle Busch exchanged some contact. Radio from Busch’s car made clear he took exception to Chastain’s annoyance over Busch’s contact. Later in the race, Christopher Bell lost control of his car under Chastain’s coming off turn two. While many fans speculated that Chastain took part in Bell’s undoing, it was later confirmed that the watermelon wrecking ball was innocent in Bell’s accident. Then came the incident that led to the pit road altercation that has overshowed the actual race.

During the final stage of the race, Ross Chastain was battling mid-pack with Noah Gragson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Coming out of turn four, Chastain’s car got tight, drifting him up the track. Due to Chastain sliding up the track, Gragson found himself making contact with the outside wall. After driving down on Chastin through the tri-oval, Gragson spun out a few laps later. Through the rest of the race, Chastain was able to avoid anymore drama and finished with a Top-5. After the race had wrapped, Gragson decided to pay Chastain a visit on pit road to have a chat about the turn four incident. Apparently, the conversation did not go well, which led to Gragson grabbing Chastain’s fire suit. Chastain responded by punching Gragson in the face before the two got separated by security. As Chastain said, it was a “drama free day“.

With this punch, Ross Chastain has grabbed the headlines coming out of the weekend. Every racing show will lead with this topic, non-NASCAR sports shows will show the video of the incident, and Chastain will trend on social media for a bit. Once again, Chastain will become larger than NASCAR. This time, it will be for a negative circumstance rather than his video game maneuver at Martinsville last Fall. Still, Chastain will be the public eye for NASCAR. Once again, NASCAR should be thanking the watermelon farmer. Whether NASCAR knows it or not, they need Ross Chastain.

NASCAR Needs Personalities

Here is a thought experiment for you: describe the personality of William Byron. Not anything about his driving talent, but his personality. What about Erik Jones? Kyle Larson? Ryan Blaney? You can even take most popular driver Chase Elliott and still struggle to find defining characteristics about those drivers. That is a massive problem for NASCAR. Their drivers have become a bit too normalized. Consider the Cup Series lineup from the mid-2000s. For the entire field, each had a distinct personality that even a casual fan could pick up on. That does not mean all were crazy, aggressive, or hotheads. However, they all had their own unique personalities that came through each weekend. Meanwhile, about 85% of the Cup Series roster could be described using the same three adjectives.

There is a clear distinction between the veteran drivers who raced prior to the 2010s and the newer faces in the series. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin all have distinct personalities that fans can latch onto. When it comes to Hamlin, his carefree attitude when it comes to his commentary has blossomed as he approaches the end of his career. Meanwhile, Busch and Harvick have a longer history of wearing their attitudes for the public to see. It is why they are still some of the most popular driver in the Cup Series. The majority of the drivers who entered the Cup Series after 2010 lack personality that is distinguishable from the others. While no one would ask drivers to do an act to become more interesting, NASCAR has done a terrible job in presenting these drivers. Plus, some of the drivers are simply boring.

Ross Chastain Leading the Way

Whether you love or hate him, Ross Chastain has a personality that is clear for everyone who watches. He is aggressive, willing to push himself (and his car) to the limit. However, he is seemingly humble enough to admit when he is in the wrong and willing to apologize for his actions. While some fans find the apologies weak, he has remained consistent about owning up to his actions. It has not changed his on track approach, so it is fair to question the legitimacy of how apologetic he is. Even if it is phony, it plays into the personality that Chastain has presented.

Chastain presents the perfect marketing tool for NASCAR to use. Even though they banned his Martinsville “hail melon” move, they still slap it on every commercial they can. Chastain was front and center on the latest console NASCAR video game. The man sells the NASCAR brand by simply being himself. His “hail melon” move is one of the most viewed clips NASACR has ever produced. This incident with Noah Gragson will likely go down a similar path. The best part of this altercation was that Chastain had a smile on his face during the entire scuffle. Once again, it plays well with a casual viewer. His interview after the altercation only support what fans saw: either a man who stood his ground or the jerk who took a cheap shot.

More to Follow (Hopefully)

While Ross Chastain is the center of this drama, you cannot forget the other half of the altercation: Noah Gragson. Gragson is in the midst of a poor rookie campaign. Currently, he sits thirty-second in points. Chase Elliott is ahead of him in points and Elliott missed six races. To say he is having a rough season is a bit of an understatement. His actions today will throw him some attention that he has been lacking due to his poor performance. Is that to say that this was staged in some way? No, but it is a nice side effect. However, Gragson is another driver who has the potential to be marketable for NASCAR.

Back in the Xfinity Series, Noah Gragson was a standout personality. He had a trademark celebration, spoke his mind in interviews, and essentially seemed to be the frat guy of the NASCAR world. While he did not leave the Chastain confrontation looking great, it was nice to see a driver (other than Hamlin) go respond to Chastain directly. Instead of mouthing off in an interview, he went to settle the score. He got rocked in the face for his troubles with a bowl cut, but the point remains.

If Gragson can find success, that would add another strong personality in the sea of bland.  Since NASCAR struggles at marketing their drivers, drivers who are marketable themselves are perfect. Ty Gibbs is another driver who would serve NASCAR well by not being terrible in the Cup Series. While his villainous ways have temporarily been left in the Xfinity Series, he has the potential to be a notable star of the Cup Series through personality alone. NASCAR could use the help in the marketing department. Chastain is leading the charge to help NASCAR’s marketing team. If he can lead other drivers does this path, NASCAR might be able to resolve their marketing issue.

The Right Combination

While personality sells, it takes more than being loud to be a key cog in NASCAR’s machine. There have been plenty of loud personalities to drive in the Cup Series that did not make a dent in the grand scheme of things. The main key is that the driver has to be successful on track. For Ross Chastain, that has been the case for the past couple of seasons.

Since he has joined Trackhouse, Chastain has been the most consistent driver in the Cup Series. Currently, he leads the Cup Series points standings. Almost every week, Chastain in contending for the race win. His competitiveness is what makes him popular with fans. If he a back marker, then no one would care. Remember Quinn Houff? He constantly got himself in trouble on track and annoyed the other drivers. Instead of being a notable name, he was a nobody. Meanwhile, Chastain finished second in the championship last year and looks to be a contender for the Championship Four this year.

Chastain has the personality and performances that allow him to be a marketable star for NASCAR. However, there is one more element to his presentation that completes the package: his branding. Chastain has the Melon Man Brand that is specific to him. His pit board is his melon man logo. When you see someone wearing Chastain merch, it is usually from his store rather than what NASCAR is selling. Much like Kyle Busch, Chastain is building a brand that is separate from the NASCAR marketing efforts.

While Chastain might not win the Most Popular Drivers award, his popularity is steadily climbing. The altercation with Gragson is likely going to improve his standing with a lot of fans. Some fans will reject it and continue to hate him. However, the hate is helpful for NASCAR. Every sport needs a polarizing figure. NASCAR has been lacking that for a bit now. Based on fan reaction, Chastain seems to lean toward the fans loving him. However, there are enough fans who hate him to make it interesting. NASCAR has already enjoyed this. Between the ‘hail melon’ and the “Thanks Ross” segment FOX created, Chastain is becoming the most recognizable face of NASCAR. For the growth of the sport, NASCAR hopes it will continue.