Ross Chastain has really positioned himself after his title run in 2022. Now rightfully known as one of the most aggressive drivers in all of NASCAR, but that wasn’t a new thing. Not many people follow the lower series closely, but those who did saw how aggressive he is, especially in 2019.
A Unique Title Challenge
Ross Chastain wasn’t supposed to be full-time in the truck series, let alone going for the truck series title. He was supposed to be in Xfinity with JDM, but Ross Chastain’s 1st ever truck series win and win in the top 3 series changed everything. Chastain, despite not being supposed to be full-time in trucks, hadn’t actually missed a race and had done them all with Niece already, so it was no shock when he announced he was switching to trucks to try to make the playoffs and win another race.
All the races he did before he declared for the playoffs wouldn’t count, including his Kansas win. Meaning he’d need to get another win even to make the playoffs. He went on to win two more races with Niece before the playoffs started, in other words, before the opening playoff race at Bristol. He’d be willing to do anything to make sure his efforts weren’t wasted, and he’d have an excellent finish at the coliseum.
Ross Chastain’s Chaotic Bristol Night
Ross Chastain started on the front row that fateful Bristol night, earning a 2nd-place start. The early part of the race saw him swap the lead frequently with pole sitter and ex-truck series champion Brett Moffitt, which even saw Ross Chastain’s 1st incident of the day. When Ross Chastain had 28 laps to go in Stage 2, he moved the 24 truck out of the way and regained the lead. Moffitt got it back, though, and won stage 2.
Chastain then got a pit road penalty that sent him to the back of the field. With him feeling the pressure of the playoffs for the 1st time and now angered at NASCAR, he was not taking any prisoners for the rest of the night. With 45 to go, he tried to dive down to the inside of young Canadian Raphael Lessard, but he got loose and slammed into Lessard’s door. Which almost wrecked both of them, but they both used all their talent to save their trucks and continue the race as usual. Chastain wasn’t trying to make Lessard any less angry, though.
Chastain again tried to dive down to Lessard’s inside, and this time he committed to the inside even as Lessard aggressively squeezed him on the bottom. This resulted in the 2 making contact, and Lessard spun around while Chastain continued on. With 11 laps to go, the melon was in 6th and in the middle of a 4-truck battle when he ran into the back of Ben Rhodes, forcing him to hit the door of Sheldon Creed, but Chastain wasn’t done there. He then got to Rhodes inside and hit his door and even made it 3-wide at 1 of NASCAR’s shortest tracks.
The Iconic Radio Rant
Creed was the 1st to show his anger towards the Niece Motorsports man. Hitting him in the right rear quarter panel after Chastain tried to move him out of the groove aggressively, going for position again, and then going on a massive radio rant. He’d not be the last, though. Lessard, not surprisingly, went to confront Chastain after the race and on pit road, with the two having a surprisingly calm conversation, all things considered. Even some of the KBM employees angrily approached some of Niece Motorsports’ employees, and the teams got into a yelling match.
Chastain stood his ground, however, after the race, saying, “It’s one lane; it’s old Bristol. They’ve taken away the top; they’ve ground it without telling us, or they didn’t tell me, and so it’s one lane. Around the bottom, this is what built this place. Like, you come in this tunnel, there’s talk like quotes about rattling cages, and helmets are being thrown. Like, if we’re going to fill these places up, the car show Chevy’s going to be the one adding the excitement.”
“So I-I hate the crew chiefs coming down here and wanting to pump; they’re just out there, and they’re all washed-up race car drivers, and I love Marcus and Rudy, but my goodness, let your drivers come handle it, and one at a time, line them up. Let’s race, and let’s load after outside the race car.” Chastain would get past the 1st round and even made the final four, but lost the title to the winless Matt Crafton. Thanks a bunch for reading!
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