FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - NASCAR YOUTH SERIES
SPEEDWAY, IN (Feb. 14, 2023)
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet, has been named the Honorary Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Youth Series Presented by Cook Out national race at Auto Club Speedway Feb. 24-26.
Chastain enters the 2023 NASCAR Cup season with a tremendous amount of momentum. A pair of wins in 2022 at Circuit of the Americas and Talladega Superspeedway, along with 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes, assisted Chastain to a runner-up finish in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. He also led an incredible 692 laps which helped in his quest as a Championship 4 contender in the NASCAR Playoffs - his first playoff appearance.
“I’m happy to meet with a group of kids who are passionate about racing,” said Chastain, a native of Alva, Fla. “While racing is fun there are so many other aspects it teaches kids like responsibility, time management and sportsmanship. I’m looking forward to spending some time with the young racers at Auto Club Speedway.”
Chastain joins the long and impressive list of NASCAR Youth Series Honorary Grand Marshals. Iconic and legendary drivers like Mario Andretti, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Josef Newgarden, Kyle Busch, Arie Luyendyk, James Hinchcliffe, Chase Elliott and Alexander Rossi have all taken the time to visit with the young passionate drivers.
The 2023 event marks the second time the NASCAR Youth Series, formerly known as the USAC.25 series, will kick off its national season at Auto Club Speedway. A 1/20th mile-long racetrack will be temporarily constructed on a paved section outside ACS. Over 100 drivers and their families from all over the country will travel to Fontana, Calif., to compete in this event.
With almost 60 NYS-sanctioned clubs located all across the country, thousands of kids ages five and up, along with their families, participate in quarter-midget racing. Some notable NASCAR graduates of quarter midget racing include Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Justin Allgaier, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Carson Hocevar and Todd Gilliland. For more information, visit www.nascaryouth.com
About Auto Club Speedway
Located 50 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, Auto Club Speedway is California’s premier motorsports facility, hosting over 320 days of track activity each year including a NASCAR Cup Series weekend. The two-mile D-shaped oval is one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit. The Speedway is also home to numerous movie, television and commercial productions, photo shoots, new car testing, club racing and a variety of racing schools. For more information on events at Auto Club Speedway, call 1-800-944-RACE (7223), visit www.AutoClubSpeedway.com or download the NASCAR Tracks App at www.autoclubspeedway.com/nascar-tracks-app/