Ross Chastain will return to the drivers seat in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time since May, when he takes over the driving duties of the Spire Motorsports No. 77 this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as TobyChristie.com’s Joseph Srigley first reported on Monday Evening.
NEWS: @RossChastain will drive the No. 77 @Spire77 (Spire Motorsports) @TeamChevy #Camaro this Sunday, July 5th at @IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway).#NASCAR | #Brickyard400 | Via: NASCAR Roster Portal pic.twitter.com/06TYbjGpeX
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) June 30, 2020
The full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chastain, will have a new sponsor on board his Spire Motorsports entry at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Sunday, as Chastain’s own apparel brand “Melon Man brand”, will adorn Chastain’s No. 77 in their first ever race as a primary sponsor in NASCAR.
“I’m excited to roll out the Melon Man Brand paint scheme this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” explained Chastain, an eighth-generation planter and fourth-generation watermelon farmer from Alva, Fla. “It’ll be fun to do something new. When we came up with the idea to create a personal brand, we wanted to do something different, something that would stand out. I think the look of the car and our branding initiatives check those boxes. Jeff (Dickerson) and T.J. (Puchyr) have supported me and my career without a moment’s hesitation, ever. It’s an honor for me to drive for Spire Motorsports this weekend in Indianapolis.”
Prior to this weekend’s race at Indianapolis, Chastain has made two NASCAR Cup Series starts for Spire Motorsports, driving a Chip Ganassi Racing aligned No. 77 in this season’s Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Chastain’s Spire Motorsports No. 77 will NOT feature an alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing this weekend, but rather will be unsupported entry from Spire Motorsports, who has a technical alliance with Rick Ware Racing (who purchased Premium Motorsports earlier in the season, the team Spire Motorsports used to get their cars from.)
“Any time we race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s a big deal,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr. “That said, I would qualify this race as historic. For the first time in both NASCAR Cup and IndyCar Series’ history, we’ll have a doubleheader where both series will race at the grandest track in the world on the same weekend. Spire Motorsports is extremely proud to put a member of the Spire family in the driver’s seat and to support the Melon Man Brand at the same time. We love watching Ross compete so this weekend will be a lot of fun for our entire organization.”
15 races into the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Spire Motorsports No. 77 sits 33rd in NASCAR Cup Series owner standings, and has split driving duties between Chastain and five other drivers, including Rick Ware Racing drivers J.J. Yeley and Garrett Smithley.
