After a difficult Summer, Ross Chastain wasn’t successful in making the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2024, but Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was a statement for the Trackhouse Racing driver.
The Alva, Florida-native was quickest in practice, but qualified 20th, and didn’t make an appearance at the front of the pack until a strategy call by Phil Surgen got the No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet Camaro some track position.
“Look, there’s been times this year where we couldn’t have disrupted the minnow pond outside of Darlington, let alone a cup race. It’s hard. It’s really tough,” said Chastain. “To come and do this, there are times where I didn’t think after practicing qualifying we had what it took. I thought we have been way stronger here in the past. It didn’t feel great all day, but our Kubota Chevy, it was better as the rubber went down, and the adjustments were great.”
For Chastain, his time at the front saw him involved in two showdowns, the first with Kyle Busch, as the two drivers battled back-and-forth for many laps, and throughout a green-flag pit cycle, before Busch crashed trying to lap Chase Briscoe with 40 laps to go.
The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet would return to the front of the pack immediately after the race’s final restart, making quick work of Martin Truex, Jr. to secure the lead of the race, as drivers battled hard for second behind him.
As the laps clicked off, Chastain managed to hold the race lead over playoff-eligible driver William Byron, who hovered between three and six-tenths of a second behind the leader during the final run, never able to make significant enough gains to get by.
When the checkered flag was displayed after 367 laps, Chastain managed to muster a margin of 0.388 seconds — 388 times larger than the gap between first and second at this racetrack in the Spring.
On the way to his fifth victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, Chastain led 52 laps, which ranks second to only Christopher Bell, who dominated the opening two stages of Sunday’s 400-mile contest.
William Byron, driving the No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro, came home in second place, the best of the playoff-eligible drivers, with Martin Truex, Jr. just behind him in third — the first top-five for the No. 19 team since Kansas in May, 18 races ago.
Ryan Blaney came home in fourth place, recovering for a top-five finish after an unscheduled green-flag pit stop with 77 laps remaining in the event for what the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion believed was a loose wheel.
Ty Gibbs, who was eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after Bristol, rounded out the top-five, in fifth place.
Alex Bowman continued his great post-season run to finish sixth, sliding back from a top-five position after a three-wide move went awry on the race’s final restart. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin finished seventh and eighth.
After changing the engine on the No. 9 Chevrolet after qualifying, Chase Elliott made a charge through the pack to finish in ninth place. Zane Smith, a Rookie of The Year contender, rounded out the top-10 in the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.
Daniel Suarez managed to recover a 13th-place result on Sunday after a dismal afternoon, which saw him fall as low as 30th earlier in the event. The teammate of race-winner Ross Chastain finished one spot ahead of Joey Logano, who came home 14th.
Chase Briscoe had a difficult afternoon at Kansas Speedway, finishing 24th after struggling with the handling of his racecar all afternoon. Now, heading to Talladega Superspeedway, the No. 14 has some work to do if they want to advance to the ‘Round of 8’.
Tyler Reddick had a confusing afternoon Sunday at Kansas, a racetrack that 23XI Racing has found success at in the past, finishing a dismal 25th.
Kyle Larson managed to bring his wounded No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro home in 26th place, after blowing a right-rear tire in the early stages of the event and making significant contact with the wall, causing damage to the rear diffuser of the racecar, dramatically impacting his pace.
Austin Cindric looked to have a fast racecar on Sunday, but couldn’t stay out of trouble, after being put back into the pack by a loose wheel, and then making contact with Kyle Busch, sending the No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse spinning into the inside wall on the backstretch. Cindric finished 34th.
The race featured 10 cautions for 47 laps and included an impressive 30 lead changes among 15 drivers.
Leaving Kansas, William Byron sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings over Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney. Tyler Reddick (-4), Daniel Suarez (-14), Chase Briscoe (-25), and Austin Cindric (-29) remain below the cutline heading to Talladega Superspeedway.
The YellaWood 500 will take place on Sunday, October 6 at Talladega Superspeedway. Coverage will be on NBC at 2:00 PM ET.
Photo Credit: Andrew Coppley, HHP for Chevy Racing
