Aggressive, unapologetic, and unafraid to stir the pot. Ross Chastain has always been a lightning rod in NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself once praised Chastain as “one of the best defenders” in the Next Gen era, but he’s also made it clear he’s not blind to the consequences of Chastain’s intensity.

The Trackhouse driver’s bold navigation through the racing world, diving inside, planting blockers, and racing with pure grit is definitely admirable. Yet that same fierceness has repeatedly crossed lines on circuit and street courses. Now, after a chaotic Grant Park 165 in Chicago, Dale Jr. weighs in, warning that Chastain’s latest street course may come back to haunt him.

Dale Jr. cautions Ross Chastain after Chicago rage-wreck

The fireworks in Chicago didn’t wait for the checkered flag. They exploded on lap 63, on a restart, no less, with chaos breaking out heading into Turn 1. Austin locked up, barreling into the back like a cannonball and triggering a domino effect that sent cars scattering. Kyle Larson was fun; others checked up, and in the middle of it all, Ross Chastain got shoved into the barriers like a brick in a blender.

But here is where the plot twisted. Chastain bounced off the wall, dusted himself off mid-corner, grabbed a gear, and didn’t hesitate. As the field surged into Turn 2, Chastain lunged at Joey Logano, who, as it turns out, wasn’t even responsible for the mess. The No. 1 car tagged Logano, sending him into Ricky Stenhouse Jr. What might have been a racing incident quickly became personal.

Fans and analysts immediately sensed that something deeper was in that place. And Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it best. Speaking on his The Dale Jr. Download, the Hall of Famer didn’t mince words. He said, “The most Ross Chastain thing ever is for him to go down into Turn one and get bold. You know, get bold and into the barrier, bounce off, wreck a couple guys, come out of Turn two still in the top ten. And Joey being Joey, he’s all pissed off. Dude, Ross did not, for one second, go, ‘I wonder if it was him.'”

Joey Logano’s radio blew up with unfiltered rage. He said, “Ross better get the f—— information right before he goes and wrecks somebody… he destroys me from four back. That m———–.”

After the race, the Team Penske driver revealed that Chastain owned up to the retaliation. While addressing Bob Pockrass, the 35-year-old was severely upset. He went on to say, “He admitted he wrecked it on purpose. He admitted it. Which means he should get fined if he admittedly wrecked someone on purpose. That’s not okay. Yeah, it’s typical Ross. He just sees red and does dumb stuff. That’s all.”

But here’s the thing: deep down, Logano doesn’t seem to care about Ross Chastain getting the fine, according to Junior. As Dale Junior put it, “Joey doesn’t really want him fined. Joey just needed a reason to publicly say he admitted wrecking me… Joey doesn’t care if he gets fined, but Joey just wants us to know that Ross came up to him personally and admitted it.” It’s about planting the seed. Laying the groundwork. Setting the stage for what is to come. Whether it be next week or next year, Joey’s keeping the receipt.

Junior mused, saying, “Joey will probably get Ross back at some point. It might be a year from now. It might be, you know, at some point. And we might not even notice or recognize it, but Joey will. You know, something will happen somewhere at a racetrack, and it might just be—you know, it might—he’ll just be Joey, air blocking Ross and cost him a few spots on a restart.”

In NASCAR, revenge isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s calculated, quiet, and cold. And Ross Chastain, after Chicago, might have just guaranteed himself a taste of it. However, another veteran driver had his own opinion on this situation. Denny Hamlin did not hesitate while picking sides in this fight.

Denny Hamlin sides with Joey Logano amid Chicago chaos

At the end of a chaotic Grant Park 165, it wasn’t just a street course that caught fire; it was tempers, too. A late race caution prompted Ross Chastain to retaliate against Joey Logano, triggering a wave of backlash across the NASCAR garage. The incident stemmed from a restart melee initiated by Austin Cindric, but Chastain mistakenly believed Logano was to blame. In a split-second act of misjudged vengeance, he sent the No. 22 spinning, prompting Joey to demand a penalty and reigniting a rivalry already burning since Martinsville, where he famously called Ross a j——.

On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin first laughed at the altercation, calling them “two of my favorites.” But the tone quickly turned. Hamlin sided firmly with Logano, accusing Chastain of recklessness. He goes on to say, “(Logano) is right, what do you want me to say? Chastain rage wrecked other cars that didn’t have anything to do with it.” For Hamlin, the retaliation wasn’t just misjudged; it was dangerously disruptive for other drivers who were innocent in the chain reaction.

Hamlin continued, warning that emotional, heat-of-the-moment moves cannot go unchecked. He stressed that, especially on a narrow, chaotic road course, drivers have a duty to get the facts before reacting. The No. 11 driver goes on to say, “In my opinion, Ross has done this to other cars … wiped out three or four of them. You can’t involve other people that have nothing to do with it … Especially on a road course, you’ve got to know there’s ten cars in a—you saw it was a restart. This wreck could’ve come from eight cars back … You’ve got to get the information before you rage-wreck. I agree with everything Joey said.”

In Hamlin’s eyes, Chastain acted without hesitation or thought, and that’s where the line was crossed. Now, whether NASCAR will step in or not remains to be seen; among the drivers, the verdict is already in.