Chastain Picks Up Win in Wild Talladega Finish

 Ross Chastain won the Geico 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his second victory of the season.

Chastain ran up front over the final run, and was third coming out of the final corner. The lead cars of Erik Jones and Kyle Larson made contact entering the trioval, and Chastain was able to get clear of everyone else as the field began wrecking behind him.

Chastain won for the second time in the past five weeks, and said he was excited to get off to such a good start with his new team Trackhouse Racing.

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“Justin Marks and what he laid out for us was ambitious,” Chastain said. “I had no idea what to expect other than that I had my group from last year. I’ve wrecked myself so many times.”

Chastain said he was committed to run the bottom on the final laps and didn’t want to take himself out of contention.

“I’m always the one going to the top too early and making the mistake,” Chastain said. “There at the end…I’m not going up there again, I did that a couple times today. They just kept moving out of the way.”

Jones finished sixth on Sunday after making contact with Larson on the final lap while defending the lead.

Jones said he didn’t realize the bottom lane had so much momentum coming to the checkered flag.

“They kind of doubled up behind us, and that top lane was getting some momentum,” Jones said.  “Looking back, I wish I would have stayed on the bottom and let [Chastain] push me. I didn’t realize they were coming with that much speed.”

“You can only see so much going on from the seat; you’re trying to make the best decision you can in the last 1500 feet.”

Unofficial results:

1. Ross Chastain

2. Austin Dillon

3. Kyle Busch

4. Kyle Larson

5. Martin Truex Jr.

6. Erik Jones

7. Chase Elliott

8. Michael McDowell

9. Alex Bowman

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Justin Haley

13. Aric Almirola

14. Corey LaJoie

15. William Byron

16. Kurt Busch

17. Bubba Wallace

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Landon Cassill

20. Noah Gragson

21. Austin Cindric

22. Christopher Bell

23. Brad Keselowski

24. David Ragan

25. JJ Yeley

26. BJ McLeod

27. Todd Gilliland

28. Cody Ware

29. Cole Custer

30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

31. Daniel Suarez

32. Joey Logano

33. Ty Dillon

34. Harrison Burton

35. Greg Biffle

36. Daniel Hemric

37. Chase Briscoe

38. Chris Buescher

39. Tyler Reddick

 

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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

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Larson Continues to Dominate, Wins in NASCAR's Return to Nashville

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Larson won the Ally 400 in NASCAR’s return to Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon.

Larson turned in another dominant performance on Sunday, and led a race-high 264 laps on his way to victory lane.

Larson was tasked with saving fuel over the final 70 laps, after a late pit stop forced many of the leaders to save almost 10 laps of fuel.  Larson quickly got out to a large lead, and he was able to save enough fuel over the final run.

Larson said his car was fast enough that he only had to defend the lead on restarts.

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“We never really had to run behind people,” Larson said.  “If one of my teammates had gotten out front, it probably would have been hard to pass them.”

The victory was Larson’s third in a row, in addition to his win in last weekend’s All-Star Race.

Larson said his team brought another strong car to continue his dominant summer.

“The Valvoline Chevrolet was really good,” Larson said.  “Our pit crew did an awesome job again…I just hope we can keep it going.”

Ross Chastain was the highest-finishing driver who pitted under the final stop to top-off on fuel, and he finished second.  After he got around the other leaders who were saving fuel, he was still five seconds behind Larson and ran out of laps to catch the eventual winner.

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Larson

2. Ross Chastain

3. William Byron

4. Aric Almirola

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

7. Daniel Suarez

8. Kurt Busch

9. Christopher Bell

10. Joey Logano

11. Kyle Busch

12. Austin Dillon

13. Chase Elliott

14. Ryan Newman

15. Alex Bowman

16. Corey LaJoie

17. Michael McDowell

18. Anthony Alfredo

19. Tyler Reddick

20. Erik Jones

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Denny Hamlin

23. Martin Truex Jr.

24. Brad Keselowski

25. Matt DiBenedetto

26. Garrett Smithley

27. Josh Bilicki

28. JJ Yeley

29. BJ McLeod

30. Joey Gase

31. Cole Custer

32. Chase Briscoe

33. Ryan Preece

34. Chad Finchum

35. David Starr

36. Justin Haley

37. Chris Buescher

38. Ryan Blaney

39. Quin Houff

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images