Ross Chastain took a superb victory in NASCAR at Kansas Speedway for Trackhouse Racing ahead of William Byron.
The driver of the No. 1 car is outside the top 12 places in the championship standings needed to battle for the playoffs in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Chastain has had a good season, and he has taken multiple top 10 finishes and eventually took his first win of the year last time out Kansas Speedway.
He has consistently been racing in and around the top 10 but has suffered difficult races, such as Texas Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway, where he didn’t break into the top 30.
Chastain explained when talking to the NASCAR on FOX YouTube channel that the weekend didn’t start spectacularly at Kansas, and he had work to do on race pace.
Ross Chastain admitted Daniel Suarez had a better car before the race at Kansas Speedway
The Trackhouse Racing pair of cars started the weekend superbly as both Chastain and Daniel Suarez were competitive in practice.
Chastain struggled with race pace in the opening stages of the weekend, and he was slower than his teammate.
The 31-year-old explained that he was surprised that he could battle effectively in the race which is a rare occurrence.
READ MORE: Kevin Harvick praises ‘underestimated’ aspect of Ross Chastain’s NASCAR Cup Series win at Kansas
He said: “Leaving Wednesday, like Wednesday afternoon, I thought we both thought the No.99 was better. We made tweaks when we left there.
“They changed some springs and things on the one car. I’m not sure what the No. 99 did. Then practice, even though we were both one, two, I felt like the No. 99 was better.
“He was in dirtier air and was basically the same lap time as me. Then I did not hold on very well in the long run. Then qualifying, he was better. All the way to Saturday night, I thought the ’99 is better. I’m going to be chasing him all day. In the race, it wasn’t the case. I was able to drive forward, which is the opposite of normal.”
Ross Chastain will be hoping to build on his success at the Talladega Superspeedway in NASCAR
Chastain will have another opportunity to battle for victory next time out at Talladega Superspeedway after getting his first win last time out.
The American driver struggled during the two rounds at Talladega last season, failing to battle for victory and finishing outside the top 20 on both occasions.
Chastain has been on good form over the past three rounds, finishing in the top 10 and scoring good points in the championship.