March 27, 2025 • 6 mins
Interview Podcast: Talking Racing with Scott Stevens
Recorded March 28, 2025
Guests: NASCAR CUP Series driver Ross Chastain
In this episode of "Talking Racing," Scott Stevens is joined by NASCAR CUP Series driver Ross Chastain to discuss the upcoming weekend of racing at Martinsville. Ross and Scott remember "The Wall Ride" of 2022 at Martinsville and the impact it had on his season and the race. He also delves into the unique challenges presented by Martinsville Speedway and explains why the Cookout 400's 400 laps, instead of the usual 500, could be advantageous for drivers.
To listen to the full interview, press the play (>) button below, or visit the "Talking Racing" podcast with Scott Stevens.
Recorded March 28, 2025
Guests: NASCAR CUP Series driver Ross Chastain
In this episode of "Talking Racing," Scott Stevens is joined by NASCAR CUP Series driver Ross Chastain to discuss the upcoming weekend of racing at Martinsville. Ross and Scott remember "The Wall Ride" of 2022 at Martinsville and the impact it had on his season and the race. He also delves into the unique challenges presented by Martinsville Speedway and explains why the Cookout 400's 400 laps, instead of the usual 500, could be advantageous for drivers.
To listen to the full interview, press the play (>) button below, or visit the "Talking Racing" podcast with Scott Stevens.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeartRadio. This is Scott Stevens and we're talking racing, and
of course Martinsville Speedway has the Cookout four hundred and
a couple other great events today. We've been talking about
it a lot. You can find everything at Martinville Speedway
dot com. You want to try to be there, But
we have a guest today we want to talk to.
It has been eight hundred and seventy nine days since
(00:21):
the now famous wall ride took place at Martinsville Speedway
with Ross Chastain and Ross joins us on the line
right now. How you doing, Bud?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm good, sir.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I'm actually here at Martinsville today.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
A little one had a schedule but wanted to get
up here, talk to some folks and talk to you
and get ready for the weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Well, Buddy, I tell you what, I didn't want you
to think I was counting with that whole eight hundred
and seventy nine days thing. But I couldn't talk to
Ross tasting and not at least bring it up. I
would say you probably get asked about it, probably just
about every interview you've done since then, haven't.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
You, especially any time we're at Martinsville. For sure? It's look,
it's something more out of though. That meant a lot
what we accomplished that day and go fight for a
championship the next week at Phoenix. It's something that will always.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Be proud of.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
And it happened early on in my career track outs
and we're trying to replicate that success again and go
fight for another one.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Well, that is awesome. I remember watching that. I'm a
lifelong racing fan and former announcer at a short track
up in Radford called Motor Mile Speedway, and when I
saw the replay, I wasn't there. I was watching it
on TV and when I saw the replay, I thought
they were playing it and fast forward. I couldn't comprehend
what you had done. But it's something I'll never forget.
And had that been something that you were thinking about
(01:40):
leading into the race, or had you ever talked through
that possibility with your team ahead of time?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I had not ever talked about it. Never, I never
thought about it and never never thought I would have
never even thought about preparing for it. Just one of
those things that happened. I don't know why my mind
thought to do it, but it did and it worked out.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's great. Well I did it before you on a
video game, but that doesn't count. So anyway, moving on.
You know Martinsville Speedways kind of known for its tight turns,
the paper clip short track racing. What makes the track
particularly challenging for drivers like you this.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Is the fact of how slow it is. It's not
one that rewards high speed in the corners with the
tight turns, and I tend to try to go too
fast when I go through it. So that's one thing
I'm working on for the future and this weekend is
try to try to actually slow down and go as
slow as the car needs to. It usually needs to
(02:42):
go slower than I'm trying to go, and I end
up my lap time suffers because I try to go
too fast.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, it is hard to prepare for that. How do
you prepare for a race like Martinsville in that short track?
Do you do anything different to get ready?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
We've got our simulators, So that's the biggest thing in
today's world is getting on there virtually and driving and
it replicates pretty accurate what what we're experiencing on the track.
And that's something that I put a lot of time
into and my engineers do to get me prepared, get
the car prepared as much as we can, and get
it get it ready for for race day.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Well, the Cookout four hundred of course coming up this weekend,
and for the last couple of years they've done the
spring race as a four hundred lap contest. How does
the four hundred lap concept compared to five hundred laps
affect your strategy?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, that's that's really more from my crew chief to
decide when we pit, looking at the tires as they
come off and studying that will be will be more
in the in the crew chief's hand, My crew chief,
Phil Surgeon, So that's something that you know, he tells
me when to pit. I tell him my feedback for
the car. But yeah, it makes the stages a different
length that it.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Changes specific challenges and advantages for the weekends race at Martinsville.
I mean the weather saying there's a forty percent chance
of rain developing ending sometime around six, which is about
the time the race should be ending. With rain delays,
this thing could get into the sunset time. How does
that change your strategy.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I don't begin to think about the weather until it's
the day of, so I always packed rain clothes cold
clothes and regular of hot, warm clothes for warm weather.
But yep, I just prepare for it all and figure
it out on the race day. The weather changes so
much and predictions can be spotty, so no thought has
(04:32):
went into it from my perspective.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah, predicting the weather can be almost as hard as
predicting the winner of a race. I can tell you
that much.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Well, finally, there's a lot of young drivers. Of course,
we're seeing them on the truck circuit, we're seeing them
in the other leagues. What advice would you give to
young drivers looking to succeed at the short tracks like Martinsville.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, I mean it really feels as about as natural
as anything because usually when you're younger, your start it
a smaller track. It's just a natural progression to start
locally and work your way up. So that's something that
you know, versus a Daytona or Kansas or Texas something
like that racetrack. This feels more like what I grew
(05:14):
up doing and would be the case for most young racers.
So yeah, just just you know, just keep racing is
the main thing. Just find a way to race. If
you want to be a race car driver got to
race anything and everything and and learn along the way
and meet the right people and just keep keep chasing
that dream. There's always a chance.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Absolutely, And of course a lot of folks listening to
us right now in the local area, some of which
have never been in person at a NASCAR Cup race,
and I know that you'd like to invite him to
come out, because there's nothing like seeing the race in person,
there's not.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
We've got a triple header with truck race Friday night
at Sinity Saturday and Cup on Sunday, so excited to
take all that in and get our turn on Sunday.
And yeah, we're looking forward to it. And yeah, if
you've never been doing NASCAR race, the roar of the engines,
the power that we put out, you feel it from
the grandstands, So really a unique experience you can only
(06:08):
appreciate in person.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Ross Chastain joining us on We're talking racing, talking Martinsville
for this weekend. Good luck to you. I hope you
have a great finish on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
This is Talking Racing from iHeartRadio.
iHeartRadio. This is Scott Stevens and we're talking racing, and
of course Martinsville Speedway has the Cookout four hundred and
a couple other great events today. We've been talking about
it a lot. You can find everything at Martinville Speedway
dot com. You want to try to be there, But
we have a guest today we want to talk to.
It has been eight hundred and seventy nine days since
(00:21):
the now famous wall ride took place at Martinsville Speedway
with Ross Chastain and Ross joins us on the line
right now. How you doing, Bud?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm good, sir.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I'm actually here at Martinsville today.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
A little one had a schedule but wanted to get
up here, talk to some folks and talk to you
and get ready for the weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Well, Buddy, I tell you what, I didn't want you
to think I was counting with that whole eight hundred
and seventy nine days thing. But I couldn't talk to
Ross tasting and not at least bring it up. I
would say you probably get asked about it, probably just
about every interview you've done since then, haven't.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
You, especially any time we're at Martinsville. For sure? It's look,
it's something more out of though. That meant a lot
what we accomplished that day and go fight for a
championship the next week at Phoenix. It's something that will always.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Be proud of.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
And it happened early on in my career track outs
and we're trying to replicate that success again and go
fight for another one.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Well, that is awesome. I remember watching that. I'm a
lifelong racing fan and former announcer at a short track
up in Radford called Motor Mile Speedway, and when I
saw the replay, I wasn't there. I was watching it
on TV and when I saw the replay, I thought
they were playing it and fast forward. I couldn't comprehend
what you had done. But it's something I'll never forget.
And had that been something that you were thinking about
(01:40):
leading into the race, or had you ever talked through
that possibility with your team ahead of time?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I had not ever talked about it. Never, I never
thought about it and never never thought I would have
never even thought about preparing for it. Just one of
those things that happened. I don't know why my mind
thought to do it, but it did and it worked out.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That's great. Well I did it before you on a
video game, but that doesn't count. So anyway, moving on.
You know Martinsville Speedways kind of known for its tight turns,
the paper clip short track racing. What makes the track
particularly challenging for drivers like you this.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Is the fact of how slow it is. It's not
one that rewards high speed in the corners with the
tight turns, and I tend to try to go too
fast when I go through it. So that's one thing
I'm working on for the future and this weekend is
try to try to actually slow down and go as
slow as the car needs to. It usually needs to
(02:42):
go slower than I'm trying to go, and I end
up my lap time suffers because I try to go
too fast.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, it is hard to prepare for that. How do
you prepare for a race like Martinsville in that short track?
Do you do anything different to get ready?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
We've got our simulators, So that's the biggest thing in
today's world is getting on there virtually and driving and
it replicates pretty accurate what what we're experiencing on the track.
And that's something that I put a lot of time
into and my engineers do to get me prepared, get
the car prepared as much as we can, and get
it get it ready for for race day.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Well, the Cookout four hundred of course coming up this weekend,
and for the last couple of years they've done the
spring race as a four hundred lap contest. How does
the four hundred lap concept compared to five hundred laps
affect your strategy?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, that's that's really more from my crew chief to
decide when we pit, looking at the tires as they
come off and studying that will be will be more
in the in the crew chief's hand, My crew chief,
Phil Surgeon, So that's something that you know, he tells
me when to pit. I tell him my feedback for
the car. But yeah, it makes the stages a different
length that it.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Changes specific challenges and advantages for the weekends race at Martinsville.
I mean the weather saying there's a forty percent chance
of rain developing ending sometime around six, which is about
the time the race should be ending. With rain delays,
this thing could get into the sunset time. How does
that change your strategy.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I don't begin to think about the weather until it's
the day of, so I always packed rain clothes cold
clothes and regular of hot, warm clothes for warm weather.
But yep, I just prepare for it all and figure
it out on the race day. The weather changes so
much and predictions can be spotty, so no thought has
(04:32):
went into it from my perspective.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Yeah, predicting the weather can be almost as hard as
predicting the winner of a race. I can tell you
that much.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Well, finally, there's a lot of young drivers. Of course,
we're seeing them on the truck circuit, we're seeing them
in the other leagues. What advice would you give to
young drivers looking to succeed at the short tracks like Martinsville.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, I mean it really feels as about as natural
as anything because usually when you're younger, your start it
a smaller track. It's just a natural progression to start
locally and work your way up. So that's something that
you know, versus a Daytona or Kansas or Texas something
like that racetrack. This feels more like what I grew
(05:14):
up doing and would be the case for most young racers.
So yeah, just just you know, just keep racing is
the main thing. Just find a way to race. If
you want to be a race car driver got to
race anything and everything and and learn along the way
and meet the right people and just keep keep chasing
that dream. There's always a chance.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Absolutely, And of course a lot of folks listening to
us right now in the local area, some of which
have never been in person at a NASCAR Cup race,
and I know that you'd like to invite him to
come out, because there's nothing like seeing the race in person,
there's not.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
We've got a triple header with truck race Friday night
at Sinity Saturday and Cup on Sunday, so excited to
take all that in and get our turn on Sunday.
And yeah, we're looking forward to it. And yeah, if
you've never been doing NASCAR race, the roar of the engines,
the power that we put out, you feel it from
the grandstands, So really a unique experience you can only
(06:08):
appreciate in person.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Ross Chastain joining us on We're talking racing, talking Martinsville
for this weekend. Good luck to you. I hope you
have a great finish on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
This is Talking Racing from iHeartRadio.
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