© Stan Szeto/Imagn
NASCAR officials made their feelings clear to the Trackhouse Racing team, it will not tolerate the suspicious post-race driving habits that their drivers exhibited following Sunday’s race in St. Louis.
Trackhouse drivers Shane Van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain, both of whom aren’t currently competing in the Cup Series playoffs, stood accused of cheating after they intentionally drove through the infield grass after the race.
Fellow playoff competitor Alex Bowman was the first to point out the behavior, with many claiming that the drivers were hoping to alter an out-of-compliance part prior to post-race inspection.
Macbook keeps freezing, so here is a grainier video of Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen going through the grass multiple times coming to pit road after the race. https://t.co/hwtRg1dLxB pic.twitter.com/p0j5wgGPYP
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) September 7, 2025
“We’ll be having some discussions with Trackhouse [Racing] in management, as well as their crew chiefs, and we’ll be giving all the teams some information regarding that this week,” Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran said Tuesday on Sirius XM. “We have rules that could put the teams in a real bad spot when we see that. So, we’ll make it pretty clear to them, moving forward, starting at Bristol, what that means.”
Swerving on track is commonplace for drivers after races. Cars have a minimum weight they must meet after the race. By swerving, drivers can help pick up discarded rubber from worn tires and add to their weight before pulling into the pit lane for inspection.
But driving through the grass is a wildly uncommon scene, which led to Bowman taking notice. Bowman currently sits behind both Chastain and Van Gisbergen and below the playoff cut line entering this Saturday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, which is the final race of the opening round.
It doesn’t sound as if NASCAR plans to punish either Trackhouse driver for their behavior. But the message was clear: do it again, and that outcome could be far different.