NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain — known in racing circles as "The Watermelon Man" — will serve as brand ambassador for Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE: SPH), the Whippany, N.J.-based distributor that holds the Official Propane of NASCAR designation. The partnership is designed to tie Suburban Propane's agricultural customer base directly to its expanding motorsports marketing platform.
Chastain, who drives the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, is a working partner in Melon 1, his family's multi-state watermelon farming operation based in Alva, Florida. His role spans promotional campaigns, fan engagement, agricultural events, and community programs aimed at raising operator awareness of propane applications on the farm.
The Agricultural Angle
For foodservice-adjacent operators — particularly those in food production, on-farm processing, or rural commercial kitchens — propane remains a primary energy source for grain drying, irrigation pump engines, and direct-fire equipment. Suburban Propane serves approximately 1 million residential, commercial, and agricultural customers through roughly 750 locations across 42 states, a footprint that puts the distributor in direct contact with the supply chain feeding U.S. food and beverage manufacturers.
Suburban Propane has served agricultural customers for nearly 100 years, and the Chastain partnership represents a targeted effort to sustain that segment as the energy landscape shifts. The company has also invested in renewable propane and renewable natural gas alternatives, running pilot programs such as renewable propane-powered EV charging demonstrations at race venues — a signal that the distributor is positioning its agricultural pitch within a lower-carbon energy narrative relevant to increasingly ESG-focused food producers.
NASCAR Platform at Scale
The Chastain signing is additive to an already sizable track footprint. Earlier in 2026, Suburban Propane announced an expansion to 21 NASCAR racetracks nationwide, where propane fuels track dryers used during weather delays, powers concession equipment serving thousands of fans per event, and supplies campground hookups across race weekends. That on-site concessions role places Suburban Propane squarely in the commercial foodservice energy infrastructure conversation — propane-fired fryers, griddles, and steam equipment are workhorses in high-volume, temporary foodservice environments like motorsports venues.
"Partnering with Ross is a natural extension of that relationship, reflecting our shared commitment to hard work, integrity, and the agricultural communities that are vital to America's economy," said Nandini Sankara, Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy for Suburban Propane.
Chastain's dual identity — Cup Series contender and active farmer — gives the distributor a credible voice in agricultural communities that often view celebrity partnerships skeptically. Whether that translates into measurable customer acquisition in farm-adjacent foodservice supply channels will depend on execution of the field-level programming Suburban Propane has outlined alongside the ambassador deal.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
