NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway
Team Chevy Driver Quotes
August 28, 2026
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, and Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
Shane, with the points positioning you’re in, what’s the game plan for this weekend?
Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, there’s a lot going on. Not really sure how it’s going to play out. I think, you know, 30 points is a lot until it’s not, until he (Ryan Preece) has two good stages, then we’re probably under a lot of pressure. So, yeah, as everyone knows, there’s a lot of anticipation, I guess, around the new rules and how the cars are going to be. I think we plan to be pretty conservative, and then see how his race is going and react to that. If he’s scored well in Stage One, we probably need to get amongst it in Stage Two and start pushing the issue a bit. It’s going to be fun. It’s a pretty cool feeling to have the pressure on us and see how we go.”
Can you compare the pressure that you’re under, the feeling of the championship kind of, because it’s got to be a different feeling, right? You’re not just coming for a race and going for the win, you’ve got the Chase to focus on. Can you compare that to when you were in Supercars? Is there a comparison, or is it just totally different? Do you maybe have some lessons that you could bring over from there?
Van Gisbergen: “I mean, it’s definitely different. I’ve had it come down to the last round for the win of a championship and this definitely does not compare to that. But there’s still definitely a lot of pressure. You know, it’s a whole year’s work that’s gone into this. Every week, we’ve sat in our Monday morning meetings analyzing the cutline, how many points we need per race average and what the gap is. That’s been a massive focus all year. So, yeah, still a lot of pressure. It makes our year if we get in, and then once we’re in the Chase, you know, it’s only up from there. It’ll be a fun 10 weeks or so if we get in.”
Ross, to start, to come in here and not have a shot to be in the Chase this year, what is that like as you just look at what this season has been like and where you guys are?
Chastain: “We definitely scheduled this media availability pre-being eliminated out of contention, but I wanted to stay true to our word though and come in here (laughs).”
Shane, on the flip side of that, if somebody had said to you at the start of the year you’d be the only Trackhouse car represented in the Chase, what would your reaction have been? Would you have taken that bet?
Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, of course I would have taken that. But obviously, you want the whole team to be in because that means the team is doing well. The reality is that we have struggled a bit, but I’m happy on the No. 97 side, personally, to have matched Ross (Chastain). We know how good he is on the ovals, and I think I’ve made a big jump this year to be able to match him most weeks. And obviously Connor (Zilisch), as well, is a huge talent, so to be comparable to those guys has been really cool for me this year.
But yeah, I want all three Trackhouse cars to be in. That would mean, as a team, we’re doing the right things, and we don’t quite seem to be there at the moment. There’s a lot of hard work and frustration going on, but we definitely need to improve.”
I know in the past, you’ve kind of wanted less chatter on the radio during races, but with you guys kind of keeping track of where Ryan Preece is, how do you balance that? Do you kind of want occasional updates on where he’s running compared to you or what the point situation is?
Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, I’d probably ask for that after the first stage. I think there’s going to be a lot going on at the start of the race, trying to figure out how the cars are handling, what people are doing and what techniques they’re using to be good. But yeah, certainly if it comes down to it in Stage Three; yeah, I’d want to know where he is and what’s happening. Especially, as I said, if he’s had two good stages and that points gap’s evaporated, we’ll be really mindful of where he is.”
Shane, there must be some comfort in knowing what a great speedway racer Ross is, and Connor has certainly had success on the big tracks too. Does that kind of give you a little bit extra something of goodwill as you’re racing?
Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, I’ve certainly learned a lot from Ross on these type of tracks, and especially here at the start of the year, it was pretty awesome. We were sort of controlling both lanes for a period of the race in the DAYTONA 500, which was cool. And then if it does race like Atlanta, we’ve led at Atlanta a few times and managed that. The way Ross controls the lanes, moves his car around and gives air to the following car; I think I’ve learned a lot, and hopefully, we can work together well, especially at the end if we’re under pressure. So yeah, it’d be pretty fun trying to make that. It’s cool to have the attention on us and us being the focus point, but it’s easy saying the words, too. It’s going to be hard to execute it when everyone’s trying to do it as well.”
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