Chastain Breaks Out with COTA Victory

Ross Chastain won the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas to pick up his first career victory on Sunday afternoon.

Chastain has had a strong start to the season, with three consecutive top three finishes headed into COTA. Chastain put it all together on Sunday, and ran up front for a majority of the race.

Chastain had to hold off challenges from Tyler Reddick, AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman late in the race as numerous cautions forced multiple restarts. 

Allmendinger, one of the best road course racers, pressured Chastain over the final two laps. Chastain and Allmendinger made contact throughout the final lap, which ended with Allmendinger spun out in the sand trap and Chastain cruising to the checkered flag.

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Chastain said he knew Allmendinger would be upset after helping Chastain to become a better road racer.

“To go up against some of the best with AJ, I know he’s going to be upset with me,” Chastain said.  “We raced hard, both of us.  I’ve learned so much from him.”

Chastain said he knew his Trackhouse Racing team was close to getting to victory lane after strong runs for him and teammate Daniel Suarez.

“People don’t know how good this group is,” Chastain said.  “When it comes to a Cup win, I can’t let that go down without a fight.”

Allmendinger said he was proud of his team for putting together a car that could contend for the win.

“At the end of the day, we know we had a shot to win the race,” Allmendinger said.  “Proud of Kaulig Racing, the Chevy was so fast.  At the end of the day, each person’s got to make the move that they’re comfortable with.”

Bowman inserted himself into the battle for the lead on the final lap, and finished second after Allmendinger spun off track. 

Bowman said he has worked on his road course racing, which helped put him in position to battle for the win.

“I’ve really been trying to do a better job as a racecar driver at these road courses,” Bowman said.  “We had a really fast Ally Camaro. Hate that we didn’t come away with the win.”

Unofficial results:

1. Ross Chastain

2. Alex Bowman

3. Christopher Bell

4. Chase Elliott

5. Tyler Reddick

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Austin Cindric

9. Erik Jones

10. Austin Dillon

11. Kevin Harvick

12. William Byron

13. Michael McDowell

14. Brad Keselowski

15. Justin Haley

16. Todd Gilliland

17. Harrison Burton

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Aric Almirola

20. Ty Dillon

21. Chris Buescher

22. Josh Bilicki

23. Cole Custer

24. Daniel Suarez

25. Kaz Grala

26. Boris Said

27. Cody Ware

28. Kyle Busch

29. Kyle Larson

30. Chase Briscoe

31. Joey Logano

32. Kurt Busch

33. AJ Allmendinger

34. Loris Hezemans

35. Joey Hand

36. Corey LaJoie

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

38. Bubba Wallace

39. Andy Lally

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Byron Wins at New-Look Atlanta

William Byron won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from the newly-reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Byron led a race-high 111 laps on Sunday, but had to defend against big runs throughout numerous restarts in the final 10 laps.

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Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured over the offseason, with higher banking that made the racing resemble a superspeedway.

Byron said he had to manage the closing laps as if it were Daytona or Talladega.

“It was so different,” Byron said.  “The last few laps just trying to manage the gap to Bubba [Wallace] and trying to not get too far out front. Had an intermediate style with a little bit of a speedway into it.”

Byron struggled with the car’s handling during Saturday’s practice session, but said that his team worked hard overnight to give him a car capable of winning.

“This whole team...they’ve done a great job this year,” Byron said.  “Had a pretty rough practice. Worked hard overnight…and it handled well.”

Ross Chastain ran up front early, but a flat tire caused him to hit the wall while leading midway through the race. After making repairs that kept him on track, Chastain was able to recover to finish second for the second-consecutive week.

Chastain said the team worked hard to keep him running following the accident.

“Slammed the wall and thought our day was over,” Chastain said.  “Our guys went underneath the car and got the toe closer, and we got the balance back to drive it. That’s the fight in Trackhouse.”

Unofficial results:

1. William Byron

2. Ross Chastain

3. Kurt Busch

4. Daniel Suarez

5. Corey LaJoie

6. Chase Elliott

7. Chris Buescher

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Joey Logano

10. Alex Bowman

11. Justin Haley

12. Brad Keselowski

13. Bubba Wallace

14. Erik Jones

15. Chase Briscoe

16. Josh Bilicki

17. Ryan Blaney

18. David Ragan

19. BJ McLeod

20. Greg Biffle

21. Kevin Harvick

22. Aric Almirola

23. Christopher Bell

24. Michael McDowell

25. Harrison Burton

26. Cody Ware

27. Todd Gilliland

28. Tyler Reddick

29. Denny Hamlin

30. Kyle Larson

31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

32. Austin Cindric

33. Kyle Busch

34. Cole Custer

35. Austin Dillon

36. Ty Dillon

37. Noah Gragson

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Briscoe Breaks Out with First Career Win at Phoenix

Chase Briscoe won the Ruoff Mortgage 500 from Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first career victory.

Briscoe took the lead late in the race and had to defend against Chase Elliott over the final long run of the day. After a late caution bunched up the field, Briscoe held off Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick over the final two restarts.

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Briscoe, who at one point in his career slept on a friend’s couch and volunteered at his race shop, said his first career victory was an emotional one.

“I was crying the whole last lap,” Briscoe said.  “Seven years ago…I was literally driving home to give up. I just have to thank everyone who’s gotten me to this point.”

Briscoe said it was a dream come true to get to victory lane driving for his hero Tony Stewart.

“This is definitely a team win,” Briscoe said.  “Driving at the organization and team that was my hero growing up and to get this 14 back in victory lane…unbelievable.”

Chastain held off Reddick on the final restart, but he was unable to challenge Briscoe over the final two laps.

Chastain said he was happy to have the chance to race for the victory in just his fourth start with Trackhouse Racing.

“Trackhouse Racing…believed in me early in the season whenever stuff wasn’t going great,” Chastain said.  “That was so much fun to get to race like that at this level.”

“That’s so cool to be able to race with Tyler and Chase. That’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Unofficial results:

1. Chase Briscoe

2. Ross Chastain

3. Tyler Reddick

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Kurt Busch

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Kyle Busch

8. Joey Logano

9. Daniel Suarez

10. Chris Buescher

11. Chase Elliott

12. Aric Almirola

13. Denny Hamlin

14. Alex Bowman

15. Ty Dillon

16. Cole Custer

17. Justin Haley

18. William Byron

19. Todd Gilliland

20. AJ Allmendinger

21. Austin Dillon

22. Bubba Wallace

23. Brad Keselowski

24. Austin Cindric

25. Erik Jones

26. Christopher Bell

27. Michael McDowell

28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

29. Harrison Burton

30. Landon Cassill

31. Cody Ware

32. Garrett Smithley

33. BJ McLeod

34. Kyle Larson

35. Martin Truex Jr.

36. Corey LaJoie

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Bowman Steals Victory in Las Vegas

Alex Bowman won the Pennzoil 400 from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Bowman ran inside the Top 10 for most of the race, but he wasn’t a factor at the front until the very last restart.  Bowman restarted on the front row after he took two tires on the final pit stop before overtime.

Bowman raced side-by-side with teammate Kyle Larson over the final two laps, and he was able to come away with his first win of the season after pulling ahead of his teammate on the final lap.

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Bowman said his car was fast throughout the race, but that he didn’t have the track position to show off the cars’ capabilities.

“What a call by [crew chief] Greg Ives and the guys to take two there; obviously it paid off,” Bowman said.  “This thing was fast all day. Just never really had the track position we needed to show it.”

Kyle Busch fought with his teammate Martin Truex Jr. over the final 40 laps as the two drivers dueled for the lead.  Busch held the lead when the final caution of the day came out for an incident involving Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace.

Busch was the first driver who took four tires on the final pit stop, but he didn’t have enough laps to contend for the victory and settled for a 4th-place finish.

Busch wrecked in qualifying on Saturday, and his team spent the rest of the day building the backup car to make it race-ready.

Busch said all four Joe Gibbs Racing teams came together to build him the car that drove from the back to the front.

“True testament to everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said.  “Really appreciate…my guys, but also the 11, 19 and 20. Everybody had a hand in helping make us go today, so really appreciate that.”

“We were fast at the end and just trying to do what I could to hold the lead there with Truex.  Wasn’t meant to be, not our day.”

Unofficial results:

1. Alex Bowman

2. Kyle Larson

3. Ross Chastain

4. Kyle Busch

5. William Byron

6. Aric Almirola

7. Tyler Reddick

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Chase Elliott

10. Christopher Bell

11. Austin Dillon

12. Kevin Harvick

13. Kurt Busch

14. Joey Logano

15. Corey LaJoie

16. Harrison Burton

17. Justin Haley

18. Chris Buescher

19. Austin Cindric

20. Ty Dillon

21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

22. Daniel Hemric

23. Todd Gilliland

24. Brad Keselowski

25. Bubba Wallace

26. Cody Ware

27. Michael McDowell

28. BJ McLeod

29. Josh Bilicki

30. Garrett Smithley

31. Erik Jones

32. Denny Hamlin

33. Cole Custer

34. Greg Biffle

35. Chase Briscoe

36. Ryan Blaney

37. Daniel Suarez

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images