Ross Chastain enters the 2023 NASCAR season with a chip on his shoulder after coming close to the Cup Series championship last year. Chastain, 30, finished runner-up behind Team Penske driver Joey Logano.
The driver of the No. 1 car for Trackhouse Racing also has to deal with a contract year as he ranks as NASCAR’s top free agent for next season. Alongside Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, they feature a strong free agency class.
However, the latest news coming out of the NASCAR world might help Chastain’s next contract as two significant names in the free agency class come off the board on Wednesday morning before the 2023 Daytona 500.
Related: Ross Chastain enters the season as NASCAR’s top free agent for 2024
Ross Chastain’s future becomes major topic with Alex Bowman and Daniel Saurez extensions
As if Chastain’s possible free agency was not a big enough topic, it has only gotten bigger after the latest news. The 30-year-old driver’s teammate Daniel Suarez has signed a multi-year extension with Trackhouse Racing.
Suarez, 31, has finally found a home and no longer has to worry about jumping rides. It has been a long road to this point but the driver of the No. 99 car for Trackhouse Racing can firmly commit to the organization for years to come.
Meanwhile, Alex Bowman has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Hendrick Motorsports through the 2026 season. Bowman, 29, now fills out the Hendrick Motorsports lineup as each driver has previously signed a long extension.
This all comes back to Chastain in one significant way. For organizations looking to improve their lineups, the free agency pool has been drained after the news of Suarez and Bowman’s contract extensions.
Chastian and Hamlin remain at the top but Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece likely fill out the rest of the list.
Out of these drivers, Truex and Almirola will either stay at their teams or retire while the rest of them outside of McDowell are young or have little success to this point. The depth of NASCAR silly season has already taken a significant hit.
Therefore, would teams be more desperate to pry Chastain away from Trackhouse Racing? With Hamlin likely staying in the Toyota camp due to 23XI Racing, he is the only realistic option for other teams, such as Stewart-Haas Racing.
Once Chastain is off the board, the major movement for top drivers is already over. The Florida native has talked about his desire to stay with Trackhouse Racing but you never know with the business of NASCAR.