Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain got the unique opportunity to be on-site at the Roar Before the 24 test sessions at Daytona over the weekend. He made a surprise appearance at the venue and toured Action Express Racing’s Whelen Cadillac set-up at the invitation of General Motors and the team. Following the experience, he had some interesting comments to make.
He admitted that while he had seen the IMSA events from up close, getting to the pit box and watching the conversations first-hand was a stupendous experience. He pointed out how a driver had been ready ahead of time after a red flag came out for a stalled car and said that he could take some cues from the speed with which they worked.
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“It was interesting to see the depth of the team and ask Connor [Zilisch], probably, some silly questions, but it’s just some stuff that I never learned,”* he [__added__](https://racer.com/2026/01/18/chastain-gets-a-taste-of-imsa-at-the-roar). “It was just cool to learn about. We could be in this very pit stall for the Daytona 500 next month, and it doesn’t compare at all to this, which is good in our respective series.”*
Zilisch will be joining Chastain in the Trackhouse Racing garage this season. The youngster drove on the track before the Rolex 24 and was a part of the official test session. He also made his GTP debut in a one-off drive with the Action Express Racing Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. He, too, expressed his pleasure at teaching his teammate the ropes of sports car racing.
“It was cool to show Ross kind of where I came from, and he’s loves racing and just wants to see the different disciplines and see how teams do things differently from what we do at Trackhouse Racing,” he noted. Zilisch is aware that Chastain has seen this kind of setup already, but he also underlined that things are a bit different in the IMSA and with Cadillac.
The entire exchange left behind one question: Will Chastain become the next Cup Series star to be a part of the Rolex 24? He told RACER magazine that he would be very much interested in participating if the right opportunity came through in the future. Those are optimistic words for fans of the Melon Man.
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But, for now, his attention remains on tackling the new Cup Series championship format and earning his maiden title.
The post Ross Chastain Admits NASCAR ‘Doesn’t Compare’ to IMSA’s Sports Car Racing Experience appeared first on The SportsRush.
