Ross Chastain was looking to claw out a breakthrough moment as a driver for JD Motorsports back in 2018. Then, in an audition of sorts with Chip Ganassi Racing at Las Vegas, he swept all three stages to win. With DC Solar backing him as a sponsor, Chastain earned a seat at CGR, a championship-caliber team, for 2019, and all was well until a disastrous post-Christmas surprise almost crushed his dreams.
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“In December, we did their Christmas party out in California. Had plans like drawing up the final paint scheme for the following year. They were working on the renderings. And two days later, the feds knocked on their doors and said it was a Ponzi scheme. And they all, a lot of them, went away to prison. Two days later, after Christmas,” Chastain recently said about DC Solar on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast.
It was a huge blow for Chastain because he would have moved from the mid-pack to what he described as the best car in the series at that point. And the contract even included a pathway to the Cup Series.
But when federal agents raided DC Solar’s headquarters and CEO Jeff Carpoff’s home, they uncovered a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The company soon went bankrupt, forcing Chip Ganassi Racing to shut down its program in the series.
Carpoff later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while COO Paulette Carpoff also pleaded guilty and received a sentence of more than 11 years.
Chastain recalled traveling to California after this raid, trying to meet with executives from the company. But they were all on their holidays, and an exhausted Chastain told his family during a vacation in Florida that he was done with racing.
“Mentally, I was done. Once that was taken away, I thought that was my opportunity. I worked for years to get that opportunity,” he said in the same podcast. “I never knew what it would be, but once I was in the sport, I thought I can stay here in this like mid-pack, and then, unfortunately, somebody won’t be able to race. Somebody will lose a sponsor, and they’ll come my way, and we’ll be able to do something.”
Chip Ganassi Racing kept Chastain under contract for 2019 despite shutting down its Xfinity Series program. Surprisingly, that still allowed him to fulfill his Cup dream, as he started 35 races at NASCAR’s top level that year for Premium Motorsports. He also competed in the Xfinity Series for JD Motorsports before switching to the Truck Series midway through the season, where he came close to winning the championship and finished second.
Chastain competed in 77 races that year and quickly turned heads around the garage. In 2021, he finally landed a full-time ride with an elite Cup Series team, joining CGR in the No. 42 Chevrolet.
The team left NASCAR a year later, with Trackhouse Racing acquiring its assets. Chastain, however, retained his seat and has remained with Trackhouse ever since.