Ross Chastain has been named the driver of the #77 Spire Motorsports entry for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24. Premium Motorsports prepared the #77 for NASCAR Cup Series races in 2019, but Chip Ganassi Racing will provide the car for Chastain’s two races for Spire. Also, CGR sponsor AdventHealth will sponsor The #77 for Chastain’s two races in the car.
“To have the opportunity to run the Daytona 500 is awesome, and it’s great to do it this year with AdventHealth on board my car,” Chastain said. “I’ve only had one start in the Daytona 500 and can’t wait to run that race again in what I know will be a competitive car. I’m also looking forward to racing the Coca-Cola 600. That’s another iconic race that all of us want to win.”
Chastain finished 10th in his first Daytona 500 last year, his only top-10 in 71 Cup Series races.
Chastain planned to contest the full NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in a Chip Ganassi Racing entry last year, but a sponsorship issue resulted in CGR shuttering its Xfinity Series program prior to the start of the 2019 season. Instead, Chastain started last season with J.D. Motorsports. He switched his championship eligibility from the Xfinity Series to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series mid-season and finished second in the Truck Series standings with Niece Motorsports.
Chastain also contested 35 of 36 Cup Series races and 19 of 33 Xfinity Series races last season.
Chastain has three-career Truck Series wins, all coming in 2019. He also is a two-time Xfinity Series winner. He will race full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2020 with Kaulig Racing.
