Chip Ganassi Racing made a long-awaited announcement Monday morning in which the team named Ross Chastain as the driver of its No. 42 Chevrolet for the 2021 season.
The move wasn't totally out of left field since Chastain's had a relationship with the Ganassi organization since 2018, in which he earned the pole position, won a race and finished in second place in the three Xfinity events he ran for CGR that year.
Still, the 27-year-old has just five wins in NASCAR's lower level series and beat out other full-time Cup drivers for the coveted 42 seat, which was also offered to Bubba Wallace this year before Wallace announced he would depart his Richard Petty Motorsports team after the 2020 season.
Chastain, who races full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series, said he knows he has big shoes to fill as Ganassi's replacement for top Cup drivers Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth.
"Of course I'm nervous," Chastain said. "I'm not gonna lie to you."
The eighth generation watermelon farmer will have new teammates to lean on for the transition, though. Chastain said he plans to tap on the knowledge of championship drivers and CGR teammate Kurt Busch in the No. 1 Cup car and Jimmie Johnson, who will run IndyCar races for the organization next season.
Chastain even received an unexpected text from Johnson this morning: "He said, 'Hey man, congratulations! I guess this means we're teammates."
Chastain spoke with The Observer on the afternoon of the biggest news in his NASCAR career about smashing watermelons in Victory Lane, texting Johnson and how he plans to juggle making an Xfinity championship run while preparing to launch in the Cup Series as NASCAR's next No. 42 driver.
