SWFL native celebrating his first NASCAR Cup Series win

A Southwest Florida watermelon farmer is celebrating a big NASCAR win, and so are his proud neighbors. Ross Chastain, the pride and joy of Alva, won his first NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.

You may know him as a NASCAR driver, but to Billy Youngs, Ross Chastain is an eighth-generation Alva watermelon farmer.

“I shed a tear yesterday when I seen him smash a watermelon, it was pretty cool,” said Billy Youngs, the owner of Country Cuts Barbershop.

Country Cuts Barbershop is the place where Chastain gets his haircut.

“I had one of my regulars sitting down for about an hour waiting for a haircut and Ross comes in and sits straight down. He says, ‘what? Do I have to win a NASCAR race to get in his seat? Ross laughed and told him he could go if you’d like. He’s very humble like that,” said Youngs.

“He’s come in for a haircut and he doesn’t act any different. He sits right down and it wouldn’t really know it was a Ross unless you literally look and Ross is here with us,” said Joey Manscape, who works at Country Cuts Barbershop.

He hopes Chastain’s career leads to more people getting involved in motorsports.

“It’s crazy to think that, you know, you’re just watching your kid out there one weekend, and 20 years later you could still be watching your kid out there on the weekend on the biggest platform out there. It just goes to show you that if you work hard and stay consistent, anything can happen,” said Manscape.

Chastain made his NASCAR debut in 2011 when he was only 18 years old. 11 years later he finally made it across the NASCAR Cup Series finish line in first place.