After Pressure From Chase Elliott & Kyle Larson to Force NASCAR Ban, Ross Chastain Salutes “We’re Not Going to Overreact” Approach

The 2022 season has been a very good one for Ross Chastain. He finished the season in 2nd position behind the winner, Joey Logano, and finished 3rd in the Championship 4 race in Phoenix. But the difference between a mediocre season and a very good season was his crazy video game move in Martinsville.

Ross Chastain’s wall-hugging move caught a lot of attention in the NASCAR community. People looking from outside hailed it as a fantastic move; however, those who were inside believed that it put the other drivers at risk, and it should be prevented from happening again. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson both made statements questioning the validity of a move like that.

Speaking after the Championship 4 race, he said “I’m glad that NASCAR dug their heels in a bit this weekend and said, look, we’re not going to overreact to this, we’re just going to let it play out, and we’ll continue to talk about it in the off-season, even though there was a lot of push for a rule today. And super proud of the group at NASCAR and everybody in charge for taking charge and making their own decision and not letting the pressure of the driver group steer them too far.”

He also expressed gratitude for “They took a big leap of faith with this car, the France family and NASCAR did. Obviously I’m really thankful for that because it put Trackhouse into existence, and it gave us kind of the reason that we’ve been able to be successful.

“And I think that, as we keep going and the sport evolves, it’s important for them to — they run the show, and sometimes they need to — you tell us what to do, you tell us what the rule book is, and then let us go race. That’s what makes NASCAR so great, I think.”

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That move changed a lot of scenarios as it cost Denny Hamlin a place in the finale, and got Chastain with a shot at the Championship. It is bound to be debated for a long time till there is a concrete stance from NASCAR about the legality of the move. But it was for sure, a fascinating move to pull off successfully.

Did Ross Chastain steal Chase Elliott’s chance at a 2nd Cup Series?

Chastain has received a lot of flak for his move at Martinsville. Though some of his peers called out his antics; he calls them opportunities. But what about Chase Elliott?

On Sunday, Elliott made a move to the inside of Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet after a restart. But the latter wasn’t one to give way and maintained his position. The next moment, Elliott hit the walls. When asked about it, Chastain said “I got to the left of (Elliott) and saw an erratic move that he made to turn left to cover it but I was already there. It’s not how I want to race them or those guys.”

“I needed other Chevys up there to fight those other guys. It’s not what I want to do, but I feel like I had position on him and he tried to cover it late.”

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Chastain believes he had the position and did not lift rightfully. Regardless, both the young drivers will be back on the tracks soon, and we’ll know if there’s any love lost between them for sure.