TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ross Chastain, the runner-up in NASCAR's championship last season, crashed out of Sunday's playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway in a collision with fellow title contenders Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell.
Chastain was in a pack of cars racing to the flag that marked the end of the first stage. It's a typically aggressive lap as the top-10 stage finishers receive critical points needed to advance into the round of eight.
Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran out of gas on the lap and that caused his Chevrolet to slow dramatically. Busch hit the wall trying to avoid running into the back of Stenhouse, just as Chastain tried to slide through the middle to advance his position.
Chastain ended up running into Busch's car as Busch bounced back into the racing line. That caused the Chevrolet from Trackhouse Racing to hit the wall and take a second hit from Bell.
The chain-reaction collision ended Chastain's race.
“It's just the way it goes. Nothing personal with it. I don't take any of this personal," Chastain said as he exited the infield medical care center. “I could have stayed (on the) bottom a few laps earlier probably and been safer. Just had a couple cars land in my lap and I looked for the gap. Study that and be better next time.”
Chastain entered Talladega, the middle race of the round of 12, ranked sixth in the Cup standings and 12 points above the cutline. His last-place finish Sunday will drop him below the cutline and force him into a high-pressure situation next week on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Chastain, who won at Talladega last year, has struggled in his four previous starts on Charlotte's hybrid road course/oval track. His best finish is 22nd.
“Left and right,” he said when asked how he expects next week to go. “I'm living my dream, so whatever our team brings next week, we'll put our best foot forward. As long as I'm getting to drive these rocket ships that Trackhouse brings me, I'm living my dream and we'll keep fighting.”
Chastain was facing elimination a year ago in the penultimate race of the season when he used a desperation video game-type move and deliberately crashed into the wall at Martinsville Speedway. He used the force of the last-lap collision to slingshot his way past five cars and steal the fourth and final spot in the championship-deciding finale.
Chastain then finished behind Joey Logano in the championship race.
Talladega is considered the biggest wild card of the playoffs because of the unpredictability of the intense, three-wide pack racing. One wrong move can quickly ends a driver's day, as Chastain learned early in Sunday's race.
William Byron started the race as the only driver locked into the round of eight based off his win last week at Texas. The victory was the 300th Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports.
UP NEXT
NASCAR races next Sunday on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Christopher Bell won last year to avoid playoff elimination.
