CONCORD, N.C.— The Charlotte Roval provided some of the NASCAR Cup Playoff drivers an E-ticket level rollercoaster ride—chief among them, Ross Chastain.
The Trackhouse Racing driver’s day started at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments after he tagged the wall in qualifying—and climaxed with a Stage 2 win. But 25 laps later, Chastain was on the downslope again after hitting the wall and taking his car to the garage.
A broken toe link tested the No. 1 team, but Chastain’s body of work throughout the season, combined with bonus points accumulated for his sixth stage win, padded his Playoff position.
“We did a good job through Stage two to play the strategy to get up there and win the stage,” Chastain said after the race. “Hats off to Trackhouse and Team Chevy, our strategy group and (crew chief) Phil Surgeon to get that stage win. (That’s) a big part of ultimately what carried us through—and then just a mental error there.
“After I hit the wall, it was not a lot of thought after that. My bandwidth was fully maxed out. I just waited on the end to figure out if we made it.”
No doubt the Round of 12 was grueling. But Chastain scored points in both stages at Texas and salvaged a 13th-place finish. He then led a race-high 36 laps at Talladega before finishing fourth. At the Roval, Chastain was fully spent after climbing from the No. 1 Chevy at the end of the race. And without winning a stage in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400, he might not have been able to continue in the postseason.
“Oh, my goodness,” Chastain said with a sigh. “Yeah, it’s just everything, right? Running up front in Talladega. Doing what we did in Texas. It’s just a testament to the whole season—to running good throughout the entire season.
“But yeah, I knew when we won the stage… I didn’t expect to make the mistake that I did, but I’m so very grateful.”
In a year where he’s scored his first and second Cup wins, had his name turned into a pejorative verb, made his debut in the Playoffs and transferred to the Round of 8–let in third place in the standings–it almost seems unreal to the watermelon farmer from Alva, Florida.
It wasn’t until last season—his third full year on the Cup tour—that Chastain scored a top-five finish. Over 36 races, he accumulated three top fives, eight top 10s and led 62 laps. Since Justin Marks added his signature style to the organization, Chastain, 29, has flourished in 2022. With four races remaining in the season, he has amassed two wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s and led 624 laps.
When he was driving for the now-defunct Premium Motorsports five years ago, could Chastain have imagined advancing to the Round of 8?
“I couldn’t have imagined, five months ago,” Chastain said. “But, no, five years ago, I did not have my opportunity with CGR (Chip Ganassi Racing) yet, right? You go back four years ago—up to a little over four years ago—and I get my opportunity (in Cup). And I’m forever grateful for that.
“And we are still rolling on. The way we do things, we do it a little different, and that was the story of our weekend. We did not make it easy on ourselves.”
After the Roval test a year ago, Chastain had a healthy respect for the track. During Saturday’s practice, his lap times were the best ever. But he knew the margin for error was slim—and when he pushed the limit, he found it in qualifying. The second mistake during the race was salt in Chastain’s wounds.
Chastain couldn’t wait to leave the Roval in the dust and out of his mind. He was so over Sunday’s insanity that Las Vegas couldn’t come quick enough.
“Normally, I wait till Monday morning, when we look through everything, but when I drive off this property, I am done with the Roval, and we are full on to Vegas.
“I’m not watching this race back. I don’t care. I don’t ever want to see this again and see my mistakes, right? So that is gone, and it’s full bore into Vegas and I just can’t, I can’t handle the Roval anymore.”
Chastain’s a distinct threat for the Championship 4 round. He finished third at Las Vegas in the spring and scored three additional top fives and five top 10s on the other 1.5-milers on the schedule. After last month’s test with teammate Daniel Suarez at Homestead, his confidence is high.
“(Suarez) had the first day, so I got his used-up race car that he had hit the wall with like 17 times; and then I went out and hit it 17 more,” Chastain said. “Trackhouse was very up-front with us that they would rebuild the car between the two days and throughout the day if we needed to.
“I went out the very first run of the second day of the test, spun out and was totally fine. We put tires on it, kept going, kept going…and that’s just not been the case this year. It’s tough to do that with a 20-minute practice. It puts yourself at risk in being over the edge.
“Driving into Charlotte, I’ve been here since the 600, but just having flashbacks of how competitive we were. I feel like we had two cars that could have won the 600. Full confidence moving into the next two weeks. Our cars are strong.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer.
