Ross Chastain Wins at Talladega as Cars Wreck on Final Lap
Ross Chastain earned his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday at Talladega Super Speedway, holding off Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch as multiple drivers crashed on the final lap.
This is Chastain’s second victory in the last four races for Trackhouse Racing.
“Absolutely mind-blowing,” Chastain told Skirts and Scuffs when asked how this victory stacked up against others in his NASCAR journey, “I grew up short track racing, so I just assumed and thought that that was where I was the best. Turning right was hard and drafting was hard, I just thought [I] would never be able to catch up to guys that have been doing it so much longer than me.
“We’ve closed the gap, there’s still a long way to go, but yeah it’s absolutely mind-blowing.”
Where does the victory sit among Chastain’s seven wins in NASCAR’s top three divisions?
“I don’t put any of them ahead of any other one.” Chastain said, “Yeah, it’s Cup, it’s different, but I’d put it right next to the Iowa Truck win.”
Kyle Larson finished fourth in the race after leading 188 laps during the GEICO 500. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five finishers.
Erik Jones finished sixth, Chase Elliott finished seventh, followed by Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, and Kevin Harvick.
A multi-car crash in Stage 2 eliminated several early contenders. Team Penske’s Joey Logano was shuffled out of line before hitting the wall and collecting Daniel Suarez, the No. 42 of Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, and others.
Bubba Wallace and William Byron earned the first two stage victories. Wallace finished 17th after being collected in the final lap crash, while Byron finished in 15th place.
NASCAR heads to Dover Motor Speedway next Sunday, May 1st. Coverage will be on Fox Sports 1 at 3 p.m. ET.
Reviewed by Courtney Horn
on
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Rating:
