Ross Chastain on Racing, Farming, and Staying Rooted

NASCAR driver Ross Chastain started the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 in last place, but he was the first to cross the finish line when the checkered flag waved 400 laps later. After taking a victory lap, Chastain climbed on top of the No. 1 Chevrolet, and as fireworks erupted behind him and the crowd roared, he held a watermelon over his head and smashed it onto the track of the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The watermelon featured in his signature celebration was grown on Chastain’s family’s farm near Fort Myers, Florida, representing generations of hard work and perseverance.

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Meet Ross Chastain

Chastain grew up working alongside his father, grandfather, and brother on the family’s watermelon farm. He also spent a lot of time at a nearby racetrack, watching his dad drive and eventually getting behind the wheel. He won his first local race as a young teenager, and later left the watermelon fields for a full-time racing career.

While Chastain’s days are now spent driving a race car instead of a tractor, he said the lessons he learned on the farm still serve him well.

“In ag, you just have to wake up every day, like most jobs, and go solve the problems,” he said. “Problems arise every day. Decisions have to be made. I do that in racing. There are harder days and there are easier days, but you just get up and go do the work. I tend to get real lucky when I show up and do the work.”

Chastain is using his public platform to promote the watermelon industry, and agriculture in general. In 2023, he launched Ag to Asphalt, a video series featuring himself visiting farms near the tracks where he’s racing. “I get a lot of attention for being a race car driver, and I can redirect that light onto a farm,” he said. “It’s just another way of informing people where their food is coming from and showing the families that are behind the scenes, the ones actually growing the crops.”

Episode Highlights

• Chastain’s family has farmed since they came to what is now the U.S. from France in 1700. His great-grandfather moved the family farm to Florida in the 1950s for the earlier watermelon season.
• Chastain raced professionally for years before getting his first win. He celebrated by smashing a watermelon onto the track, which has become a tradition.
• He aims to use his public platform to celebrate farmers. The Ag to Asphalt video series features Chastain talking with farmers around the country, as he travels from race to race.
• Although Chastain helps on the farm when he’s home, his role now focuses on watermelon promotion.
• Chastain’s advice to farm kids with big dreams: Keep showing up and doing the work.
• Salt or no salt? Chastain said his favorite way to eat watermelon is right off the vine on a hot day, setting it on the tailgate of the truck and cutting it open. “There’s nothing like it.”

Links and Resources

• Watch Chastain’s Ag to Asphalt video series.
• More from Agriculture.com:

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