When Joey Logano approached the checkered flag of Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, all he saw were cars in reverse wide open. One of those cars belonged to Ross Chastain, who he needed to outpoint for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8.
Outscoring Logano by 10 stage points put Chastain within three markers of the No. 22 car entering the final stage. Multiple miscues, however, by the No. 1 driver made it an uphill battle.
At the end of the opening stage, Chastain lost 15 spots on pit road as he didn’t make the hard, 90-degree turn back onto the track. After taking the green flag in 30th, he quickly gained positions and opted not to flip the second stage. That put the Nos. 1 and 22 on the same row to begin the final stage.
Chastain drove away from Logano and was in position to make up the aforementioned three points needed. But when he pitted for the final time with 23 laps remaining, he was caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a drive-through penalty. That dropped him behind Logano on one-lap fresher tires.
His stomach sank immediately, knowing he had a race-changing penalty. At the same time, he tried to woe up by slamming on the brakes on pit road, but it wasn’t enough.
“Came out of the pit stall and double [shifted] into third (gear),” Chastain told NBC Sports after the race. “Unforced errors – just terrible.”
Yet the race to catch Logano was on. With 11 laps remaining, Chastain passed the No. 22 car for 13th position. With tire fall-off in play, three-time Cup Series championship-winning crew chief Paul Wolfe called an audible to bring Logano to pit road for fresh tires. Logano re-entered the race 10 points below Chastain.
Logano got within four points rapidly. Over the final three laps, Chastain began bleeding spots, first losing spots to Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry. Todd Gilliland also snuck by the No. 1 car. Ultimately, it came down to holding off longtime rival Denny Hamlin for 18th., But Chastain slid his tires entering Turn 7 on the final lap and dropped behind the No. 11 car. Entering the frontstretch chicane for the final time, Chastain made a Hail Mary attempt by driving deep into Turn 16 and spinning Hamlin out. He spun himself around in the process and backed his car across the finish line in 21st, one spot behind Logano. The defending champion advanced by four points.
CHASTAIN WITH THE REVERSE ENDING
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“I would restart the whole day,” Chastain added. “Our Busch Light Chevy, Trackhouse Racing, they expect so much more out of me.
“It’s heartbreaking for almost 200 employees at Trackhouse, all of our teammates, ECR Engines; everyone that makes this go around. Justin [Marks, team owner] hired me to carry this 1 car to drive it and be a leader, and I completely unraveled our day. Completely unacceptable.”
The feeling of Chastain believing he cost the entire No. 1 team doesn’t sit well with him. He will miss out on advancing to the Round of 8 for the third straight season.
“It’s terrible to get to this level and not perform,” Chastain added. “When you watch, learn and study for half your life to get here and to fail, it’s a terrible feeling right now. I will wake up tomorrow and go right back to work. It doesn’t make it any better for our partners or any of my teammates that are really upset with me.”
Meanwhile, Logano will make his 10th Round of 8 appearance, tied with Hamlin for the most in series history. He won the first race in the round last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to advance to the Championship 4.
“I knew we were within a point and it was going to be tight and Ross was going to do whatever he had to do to make it happen,” Logano said. “We just weren’t fast enough today with our car.
“Proud of Paul Wolfe. He made some really hard calls today. Three-stopping the [final stage] with an audible at the end because our fall off was a little too much. Making that call at the end is ultimately what kept us in the game with just a few left. That’s a championship performance for the team.”
Knowing how tough an out Logano can be in the playoffs, Hamlin wished he had known his position better. But he wouldn’t confirm that he would have been a barricade for Chastain on the final lap.
Hamlin told reporters: “I would have made the best decision for me.”
After the race, Chastain shared words with both Hamlin and Logano on pit road.