It’s a case of too little, too late for Ross Chastain, who narrowly missed out on making the NASCAR playoffs a few weeks ago.
He hasn’t given up though, and bounced back with an excellent win – the fifth of his career, as he now sits 17th in the drivers’ standings.
Nevertheless, this season still hasn’t quite delivered what he and Trackhouse Racing would’ve expected, with yesterday’s result being his first top three of the year.
But he still has six races to end things on a positive note in 2024, before a chance at redemption arrives during the next NASCAR season.
Ross Chastain proves he hasn’t ‘gone anywhere’ after win
Chastain is the second lowest-placed driver in the championship to have claimed a victory this year, after winning by half a second from William Byron in Kansas.
Martin Truex Jr looked as if he might get another win before retiring, but ended up third, just over a second from the top step of the podium.
Speaking after the race, Chastain discussed the difficulties of the season so far and what he intends to do for the rest of the season.
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“We haven’t gone anywhere. We keep showing up,” he said.
“It’s not easy when you’re failing or struggling at something, and you just can’t get to where you want to get to.”
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Byron – who finished second in Kansas now leads the championship, having turned around Kyle Larson’s fairly sizeable advantage in one round.
Larson finished 26th after suffering a puncture which sent him into the wall early in the race, ruining any hopes of a good result early on.
The American driver now sits fourth in the championship, behind Ryan Blaney in third, Christopher Bell in second and Byron in first.
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No one else has achieved more than three wins or three poles this year, while Larson’s five wins and four poles sees him lead the field in that statistic.
He needs to get back on track next weekend in Talladega, or he risks losing more ground than he can make up by the end of the season.