Ross Chastain endured a challenging day at the Charlotte Roval, as pit stop miscues and a chaotic finish ultimately cost him a spot in the final Round of 8. The No. 1 driver lost out to Joey Logano in a dramatic battle for the last transfer position.
Chastain started the race in 10th position, while Logano began further back in 17th. Despite the setback on the starting grid, the Trackhouse driver was fast enough to earn valuable stage points early on. However, his day took a turn for the worse after overshooting his pit exit following Stage 1. Although he managed to recover and even passed Logano during Stage 2, more trouble awaited him.
During a pit stop on lap 87, Chastain was caught speeding on pit road. He quickly double-clicked into third gear and dialed back, but it was not enough to avoid a costly pass-through penalty. Later in the race, with 10 laps remaining, Logano pitted, leaving Chastain with a 10-point lead in the standings. Chastain chose to stay out on the track, hoping to fight for his spot in the playoffs.
With just four laps to go, Logano had gained momentum, passing multiple cars and narrowing the points gap to just three. In a desperate attempt to maintain his position, Chastain made a risky move trying to pass Denny Hamlin in the final corners. Unfortunately, the maneuver resulted in a collision that wiped out both cars. Chastain scrambled across the finish line in reverse, while Logano managed to pass him by a mere 0.167 seconds, clinching the final transfer spot.
Reflecting on the incident, a teammate commented, “I saw [Chastain] going in there sideways trying to get the No. 11, and I was like, ‘Oh boy, this could be the difference right here.’ But at that point, I was just a passenger. I was too far back to do anything myself, so I was just going to go through the corner and hope for the best.”
Amidst the drama, Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen emerged victorious, securing his fifth consecutive win on road courses.
Taking full responsibility for the outcome, Chastain appeared visibly dejected after his playoff exit. “Today, we were good enough to run top five and I took us out of that. It’s all on me,” he admitted.
Chastain’s exit paves the way for defending champion Joey Logano to secure yet another shot at the title. Meanwhile, Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney trails the playoff leader, Denny Hamlin, by just two points — setting up a thrilling remainder of the season.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/nascar/news-how-ross-chastain-s-charlotte-woes-gave-joey-logano-lifeline-nascar-championship-fight
