The final 10 races of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season got underway Sunday evening at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
After 400 miles in the Ally 400, it was a satisfying result for some drivers, most notably race winner Ross Chastain.
For Chastain, the Trackhouse Racing driver has been under plenty of skepticism this season. When legendary team owner Rick Hendrick publicly called out Chastain’s on-track actions following a battle with Hendrick’s driver Kyle Larson at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May, it sent a stern message.
Even past run-ins with front-runners Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin have helped shape Chastain as a driver.
With the race on the line on Sunday, Chastain battled cleanly against some of his toughest rivals.
“Did you see the two cars I passed? Felt pretty good,” Chastain said. “Look, I first met Martin Truex Jr. at a Bass Pro Shops in Fort Myers, Fla., when our local one opened. He signed a Chevy Trucks hat for me. Still have it on my childhood bedroom wall hanging up. The Sharpie has about faded off, barely still there. He was a hero, idol of mine.
“To go to battle against him, have criticism from him, go back and forth, then to have him air block me at Dover (Del.) like he did, when I thought we were just as fast, was humbling.
“To go up against my heroes like that, to beat him tonight, drive by him and the 11 (Hamlin), was definitely a statement. It felt good. I’m proud that we were able to do that.”
The win was Chastain’s third Cup Series victory, and first of the season.
Other Strong Runs
• Chase Elliott’s drive to the playoffs continued to trend upward after he finished fourth on the 1.333-mile oval. While Elliott still sits 64 points out of the final playoff spot in 16th, cranking out top-five finishes week in and week out is a sure-fire way to complete a comeback after missing six races due to a leg injury and serving a one-race suspension for wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones earned a much-need top-10 result after finishing eighth on Sunday. Jones’ last top-10 finish came two months ago at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (sixth).
“It was a good day. We had a good No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. We were able to run up toward the top-10 all day, so just need to build on that,” Jones said. “If you can be up there and running competitively, it gives you something to work on. Today was the first day in a while that I felt like we were in the ballpark and where we need to be, so that’s a good step. I’m proud of the effort, for sure.
“We’re getting the cars better and where we want them to be, and hopefully just get them a little bit more moving forward.”
• Kyle Busch’s race in Nashville was drama-filled from the drop of the green flag to the checkered flag. A flat tire early on set the Richard Childress Racing driver a lap down.
Shortly after, a restart saw Busch get collected in an accident with Ryan Blaney, though no damage was sustained.
A speeding penalty also plagued Busch, though the two-time champion rebounded to finish ninth. The resilient performance keeps Busch in the regular season title hunt, as he’s fifth in points, 48 markers behind points leader Truex.
• A.J. Allmendinger notched his second consecutive top-10 finish with a 10th-place effort. Allmendinger, who won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Nashville, is 19th on the playoff grid, 24 points below the cutoff line.
“We had a really good day. Our car was really balanced all day; we didn’t have to make adjustments,” Allmendinger said. “We just couldn’t get the track positions and we lost spots on pit road and had to make up for it. At the end of the day, that probably cost up three or four spots overall. I’m proud of the team.
“We are making a lot of progress, we had a lot of speed all weekend. I’m looking forward to going to a street course here to hopefully make up some more ground.”