The ‘road to 56’ starts now for Ross Chastain

With NASCAR loosening its rules around Cup Series drivers competing in lower series, Ross Chastain now has an opportunity ahead of him. He can hit a milestone during the 2026 season while maxing out his starts.

“The road to 56 starts now,” Chastain said with a smile at Phoenix Raceway. “Yeah, we’re already working on it. I think it’s the best thing I can do, and Trackhouse (Racing) is in full support of it.

“So they want me in fast vehicles. So they’re doing everything they can on Sundays to get fast cars. So they expect the Xfinity teams and Truck teams that I drive for to also be that way.”

Between 2020 and 2025, Cup Series drivers with three or more years of full-time experience could only compete in five Xfinity Series races and five Truck Series races. This changes in 2026 as the secondary series becomes the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

NASCAR announced during championship weekend that Cup drivers with three or more years of full-time experience can compete in up to 10 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races and up to eight Craftsman Truck Series races.

Chastain previously confirmed that he would return to JR Motorsports for more starts in the No. 9 Chevrolet next season. He will share the entry with Shane van Gisbergen. The expectation is that Chastain will make all 10 starts with JR Motorsports. He also confirmed he will reunite with a familiar team on the Truck Series side.

“Any Truck races will be with Niece (Motorsports),” Chastain told FanBuzz. “The group there with Cody Efaw (President and CEO) and now the ownership group with JF (Electric) and the whole group. It’s exciting stuff.

“Their big ol’ shop in Salisbury is putting out a lot of trucks, so excited to get behind the wheel next year.”

Compared to past seasons in Chastain’s career, 56 starts is a relatively low number. The 2019 season, in particular, saw him making 77 starts across the three national series. He made 35 starts in Cup, 19 starts in Xfinity, and all 23 starts in Truck.

Chastain won four races during this jam-packed season — three in Truck and one in Xfinity — but he only posted an average finish of 28.2 in the Cup starts. This will not be the case during the 2026 season as he returns to the No. 1 Chevrolet and joins a new crew chief, Brandon McSwain.

“I might have even done a start and park that year (in 2019),” Chastain said. “We’re not start and parking. Trackhouse expects me to be fast on Saturday and Sunday. They’re trying to put me in the best cars on Sunday.

“There’s an expectation out of the other teams I drive for. So it’s got to be quality. Early in my career, I was quantity 99% of the time. Now, I’m quality.”