Chad Chastain’s ascent through the NASCAR national ranks continues as he will make his Xfinity Series début at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. He will drive the #91 Chevrolet Camaro for DGM Racing. The Governors Highway Safety Association will “sponsor” the car via its “Protect Your Melon” initiative overseen by the Chastain family, stressing the importance of wearing seat belts while in a car and a nod to their background as watermelon farmers.
His older brother and Cup Series driver Ross Chastain occasionally races for DGM such as at Fontana in February, where he finished twenty-fourth in the #91. The younger Chastain, who mainly competes in short tracks in their native Florida, ran four Truck Series races since 2021 for Niece Motorsports, for whom Ross also drives.
“I’m thrilled to make my NASCAR Xfinity Series début with DGM Racing, a Florida-based race team, driving a ‘Protect Your Melon’ Chevrolet just like I watched my brother do for years,” Chastain commented. “I have a great platform to raise awareness for safe driving, whether on the track or on the roads in the local community and being able to tie that back to our family business is an honour.”
After finishing thirty-fourth in his maiden Truck start at Watkins Glen in 2021, Chastain ran three races for Niece in 2022. He finished thirtieth in all three starts at IRP, Richmond, and Homestead.
“We’re excited to work with Chad,” said DGM Racing owner Mario Gosselin. “He has done a nice job in the select NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races he has run, and we’re excited to give him the opportunity to continue his growth in NASCAR. The programme that both Ross and Chad have put together promoting seat belt safety is fantastic and we’re happy to collaborate with them to bring awareness to this important topic.”
Josh Bilicki drove the #91 at Daytona and Las Vegas, missing the former and finishing thirty-first in the latter. Garrett Smithley was in the car at Phoenix for a run of thirty-second. DGM also fields the #92 full-time for Josh Williams, while the #36 entered Daytona with Alex Labbé but failed to qualify.
