Ross Chastain has been one of NASCAR’s most polarizing figures since his breakout 2022 season. He wall-rode Martinsville to make the Championship 4, punched Noah Gragson on pit road at Kansas, and racked up more garage enemies than almost anyone on the grid. So when he suddenly seemed to dial it back, the easy explanation was Rick Hendrick. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t buying it.

“Everybody believes that after Darlington and Rick Hendrick got in Ross’s ear that it really changed him. Not how it works. No. That’s not how it works,” Dale Jr. said, speaking on the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

“That didn’t like change him as a race car driver. Ross Chastain is still Ross Chastain. He’s still that same guy… he’s just decided, ‘Look, when my car ain’t good enough, I’m not going to create problems for myself.’”

During the May 2023 Goodyear 400 at Darlington, with merely five laps to go, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson ended up battling for position, which ended in Larson hitting the wall. The incident ended any realistic shot at a win for both of them. But Chastain couldn’t escape the radar, still, as it was the third time in four races that Chastain’s moves had cost Larson.

That particular season, Chastain had managed to pull off a few top-five finishes. In fact, right before the race at Darlington, he had finished second and fifth at Dover and Kansas, respectively. So, it was quite understandable that he felt he could battle Kyle Larson again when he squeezed him up on the wall.

“I fully committed into Turn 1 and wanted to squeeze Larson up,” Chastain told the media after the race.

But Rick Hendrick chose not to hold back afterward: “I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars. If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back. He doesn’t have to be that aggressive.” Even Trackhouse owner Justin Marks said: “He’s got some things he’s got to clean up.”

Since then, Chastain has cleaned up his driving style. And the narrative that has followed has been that Rick Hendrick’s warning changed the ‘Melon Man’.

But it is also important to note how Trackhouse has performed ever since that season.

Ross Chastain won only one race in each of the following seasons, even missing the playoffs in 2024. And this season, thanks to the performance Chevrolet delivered earlier, the #1 team has barely managed to make an impression in the top 10 in most races, and that is one of the reasons Dale Jr. suspects Chastain has been driving so disciplined. But he might soon change that.

“You wait till his cars get good again. He’s not going to be an a—— with a slow race car. But when his cars are good, he’s going to be the same old Ross. He’s just smart enough to know not to make any create any headlines or any waves when his f-ing car is not good enough to do much,” Dale Jr. added.

That said, even Chastain had admitted to Dale Jr. earlier that the incident didn’t remain that big of a deal.

In a 2024 episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Chastain reflected on the Darlington fallout with Hendrick: “I called him…..Was it as big a deal after that? No, I don’t think so.” He also acknowledged his own limits: “It’s when I step over the line, I wreck Kyle Larson, when either one of us could’ve won that race… I’ll be kicked out of the #1 car.”

As of now, Chevy’s overall performance does seem to be improving, with Chase Elliott clinching race wins, but Trackhouse Racing’s story still seems to be on the same page.

Ross Chastain details the major issue holding Trackhouse Racing back

Chevrolet announced a certain change in the ZL1’s body late last year for the 2026 season, and many considered that to be the major issue that was holding the Chevy drivers back. Meanwhile, Toyota kept dominating the races at the front. Tyler Reddick still leads the points table with the five wins he clinched early in the season.

But now, even as Chevy seems to be getting back to form with Rick Hendrick’s cars going back to battling at the top, Trackhouse Racing still seems stuck.

“It seems like, for me, when the car changes pitch or attitude on the track, like if it just moves, it reacts differently each time or more dramatically,” Chastain told the media at Nashville.

“The balance changes corner to corner and even throughout the corner sometimes. It’s just not as consistent for me driving the No. 1 car, where last year and years past, we could kind of get the car set, and then I could have consistent balance.”

For a driver, it is most important for their car to have consistent balance going through the corners, as even a little bit of instability can alter the drivability, and adapting to that for every corner can make the driver lose some precious time around a lap.

So, while it is true that Chastain has been far more disciplined on the track this season, one cannot ignore the fact that a driver without a consistent platform has no upside in picking fights. If Dale Jr’s prediction is correct, then Chastain’s aggressive side might make a return soon.