Christian Rose wanted to be on the pit crew, now he's racing for a championship

There was a time when Christian Rose was sneaking into the Daytona garage as a NASCAR fan, just to get as close to the action as possible. After a collegiate career as a pitcher for Maryland Eastern Shore in the MEAC, Rose decided he wanted to be an over-the-wall pit crew member.

A few years later, and a couple of chances here and there, Christian Rose now has his eyes set on the ARCA Menards Series championship. Going into the season, it sure seems wide open. Jesse Love has moved on to the Xfinity Series. Out of the full-time entries this season, Rose seems to stand out.

In 2023, by making sure he ran every lap he could, Christian finished the season with the most laps completed and was third overall in the points standings. He ended his season with five straight top-10 finishes, including back-to-back top-5s.

Christian didn’t have a lot of flashy finishes or even a win. But he was consistent and put himself right where he needed to be in his rookie season. This year his goals have shifted, as the 28-year-old driver has bigger plans with AM Racing.

For now, he’s totally focused on chasing the ARCA championship. In an interview with 5GOATs, Rose made it clear that he believes he has a shot at the season title.

“I do. I really do,” he said. “Not taking away from the people who are running for a championship, but I’m very confident in what our team can do. The progress in the offseason, AM Racing has been on it. … If I do my part and the team does their part and everybody just does exactly what they’re supposed to do, stays within our bounds, I think we’ll be the team to beat.”

2024 is the focus, but Christian has a vision beyond this year and beyond ARCA.

Not just happy to be here

Most would see a former baseball player racing stock cars and think, why? For Christian, it has never been a question. He loves NASCAR, he grew up loving it. To this point, he has done everything in his power to make himself part of the sport.

That love starts with Daytona International Speedway. It is the place he “begged” his parents to take him every year. The Pepsi 400 was the race circled on the calendar every year. While his family went to the beach, Christian was getting autographs and trying to meet his favorite drivers.

His love for NASCAR is why he doesn’t take anything for granted. He isn’t just happy to be here. Christian Rose fully believes he’s going to be a star in this sport.

“I tell everybody my goal is to be a Cup Series champion one day,” the driver said. “People can laugh or whatever it is. I think that’s kinda, if you’re in the sport and just trying to make money, turn laps, I think you’re in it for the wrong reasons. I want to win and I want to win at the highest level.”

At AM Racing, there is a clear path. They have already put him in two Truck Series races. The organization has an Xfinity Series program looking to grow. A program headlined by Hailie Deegan. For what it’s worth, Rose is very high on Deegan’s potential performance this season.

So, right now it’s the ARCA Menards Series. However, it could be a lot more in the near future.

“Knowing there is an opportunity, the team wants to grow to a two-car program and stuff, there’s a lot of motivation to go win a championship this year and see where the cards land on the table after it.”

Christian Rose has the mental advantage

Looking at Christian’s background as a former Division-I athlete, it is clear that it has played a role in how he approaches driving. No, pitching and racing are not really the same thing. At all. But there’s more to it than just the physical actions.

It is the mental approach. Knowing that you are going to lose more times than you win. Christian related it to me simply.

“The coolest thing about baseball and you learn it at a very young age, is if you fail seven out of ten times, you’re in the Hall of Fame,” he explained. “If you bat .300 you’re going into Cooperstown. There’s a lot of failure involved, you got to learn how to wipe the slate and come right back to it.”

Going into the ARCA 200 at Daytona, Christian also has the advantage of having raced it twice already. He’s been in the draft, led laps. He isn’t an expert, he can’t see the air move, but he has an understanding of how to get around the high banks of Daytona.

All of those years spent going to the track and even living in the city for a couple of years – it almost feels like destiny is waiting around the corner. To end our conversation, Christian Rose told me what it would mean to win the race this Saturday.

“It’s a place, I lost my father this year to Alzheimer’s, and I have a lot of memories going down there with him throughout the years. So, Daytona is special in its own right but to do it at a place that means so much to me personally, how my life’s been around that race track. It would be… I’ll tell you if I win it you’re probably not going to be able to talk with me.”