Trackin’ Trucks: Ross Chastain Wins at Darlington

 

Credit: James Gilbert 

Ross Chastain earned the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 victory on Friday night at Darlington Raceway. Chastain, who is a regular in the Cup Series, scored the win in overtime after gaining the leading position over Ty Majeski. 

Chastain led only the final three laps to earn the victory at the 1.366-mile track, something the driver has been trying to do since he arrived on the NASCAR scene in 2018. 

“We have been trying to win at Darlington,” said Chastain, who picked up his fifth Craftsman Truck Series victory. “This is where my career changed, my life changed forever.

“It’s so cool — we won Darlington.”

Nick Sanchez finished second, Ben Rhodes finished third, while Christian Eckes and Majeski rounded out the top five. 

Chase Purdy finished sixth, Colby Howard finished seventh, while Taylor Gray, Ty Dillon, and Tanner Gray came home in eighth through 10th place, respectively. 

Kyle Busch was eliminated super early on Friday night after battling with Corey Heim for the lead. Busch’s No. 7 Chevrolet got loose and sent him spinning, making contact with the inside wall. 

Busch returned after the Spire Motorsports team attempted to make repairs, sans seven laps, but Busch pounded the Turn 1 wall. He finished in the 32nd position. 

A Look Ahead 

The Craftsman Truck Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway next weekend at 1:30 p.m. ET. 

Eckes holds the points lead by 14 over Heim. Heim was the points leader before Darlington, but a multi-car wreck resulted in Heim finishing in 28th. 

Daniel Dye is on the bubble over Stewart Friesen by 18 points, while Bayley Currey is 14th, 21 points behind the 12th position. 

Don’t miss a minute of the action in North Carolina on Saturday, May 18th. The Wright Brand 250 will air at 1:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.