Ross Chastain rarely hides his emotions behind the wheel. That fire exploded earlier this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Running strong in the final laps, Chastain had victory in his sights until his protégé, Carson Hocevar, threw it all away. Hocevar, battling hard in the outside lane, made a questionable move that squeezed Chastain and derailed his chances. The incident was frustrating not just for Chastain but also for his crew, who had worked hard all weekend. The cameras caught Chastain having words with Hocevar post-race.

“All of his moves almost worked. He almost won. That’s great. I just don’t think it was what was best. Definitely wasn’t the best for me at that moment. I lost a chance to win the race because of him, and I want to understand why he did that. He told me the reason, and I don’t have to agree with it,” he later told the NASCAR media. However, Hocevar’s aggressive driving and on-track antics divided the NASCAR garage; many saw him as a new polarized figure in the sport, while some sided with the likes of Chastain and Busch.

But irony runs deep in NASCAR. While Chastain questioned Hocevar’s tactics, fans recalled Kansas 2023, when Chastain himself ignited a pit road brawl with Noah Gragson after similar contact. That infamous punch became a meme and cemented Chastain’s “wreckers or checkers” reputation. Now, as we head back to Kansas Motor Speedway for the Spring race, let’s recall that iconic moment.

How did Chase Elliott ignite the fire in Kansas?

The 2023 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway had all the usual elements: speed, strategy, and high stakes. Denny Hamlin won the race and kept his hopes alive, but what happened after the race is what people remember. Noah Gragson, still fuming from getting squeezed into the wall by Chastain off Turn 4, stormed down pit road. He confronted Chastain. Voices rose. Cameras caught the intensity. Gragson grabbed Chastain’s firesuit.

Without hesitation, Chastain swung and landed a clean right hook to Gragson’s face. He did try to get back at the Trackhouse star driver, but security stormed in, stopping him from hitting back. “I got tight off of Turn 4, for sure. He came down and grabbed hold of me, and a very big man once told me we have a no-push policy here at Trackhouse,” Chastain said. However, Gragson didn’t see it that way. “He fenced us. He did it at Talladega. I’m over it. No one else has the balls to confront him, so I did.” Notably, Gragson finished 29 while Chastain finished 5th. But the fight overshadowed it all.

What made this more than just another NASCAR dust-up was what Gragson said after. “When you got guys like Chase Elliott and other guys telling you to go beat his a$$. Everyone’s just sick and tired of him, but nobody has the balls to go up to him and get him,” he revealed. That comment cracked everything wide open. Chase Elliott, the face of NASCAR, had privately pushed Gragson to go after Chastain. The Trackhouse driver was walking on a tight rope and had multiple run-ins with Hendrick Motorsports drivers that year.

Later, Elliott didn’t deny it. He didn’t have to. However, Chastain may have landed the first punch, but the garage took notice. Kyle Busch felt the security team robbed Gragson of a fair chance. “Let him get one in. That would’ve been better for TV,” Busch said. Bubba Wallace agreed, saying, “It’s passion. Let it go till they fall.” Meanwhile, turns out this fight had even more layers.

Kansas marked the first round of Hamlin’s unofficial “Bracket Challenge,” which matched drivers head-to-head for fun. Gragson vs. Chastain was the 32/1 seed. When Hamlin told Gragson before the race he’d be going up against Chastain, the rookie just said, “Oh well.” But it clearly stuck with him. “Are we fueling fights over here?” Hamlin joked on his podcast. His co-host answered bluntly, “Quite possibly the best social media altercation of the season.”

The Kansas punch didn’t just spotlight Chastain. It put the entire garage on alert. Drivers saw the line and knew Chastain had crossed it again. The fight might’ve been broken up quickly, but the story is far from over. And as Trackhouse looks ahead, the driver at its center now has more than just racing to worry about.

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Ross Chastain opens up on team struggles

Ross Chastain isn’t just battling rivals anymore. He’s battling his own team’s lack of speed. Despite finishing second at Texas and earning four top 10s in five races, he’s had enough.  Ahead of the 2025 Kansas Race, Chastain pointed out a problem. Qualifying. “I’m tired of having to pass so many cars. I just want to show up and have the car closer… We’ve just been off. It’s no secret. We’re not sugarcoating it to ourselves or anybody,” he said bluntly on SiriusXM Radio.

Chastain said even though he’s always tried to stay positive, it’s getting harder. “Consistently qualifying in the 30s in all three Trackhouse cars… that’s not acceptable for what we have. We need to see some light in the tunnel that’s pretty dark on Saturday right now.” It’s rare to hear Chastain so candid. Usually, he’s the gritty overachiever. Now, he’s sounding like a leader fed up with being behind before the green flag even drops. “We will get it turned around,” he said. “We’re still going to have off days, but we need to be better consistently.”

He’s right. You can’t win if you start buried every week. And right now, Trackhouse Racing is chasing, not leading. Chastain might throw punches in the pit lane, but he’s throwing truth in the garage. That honesty could be the key to turning things around—or it could be another spark waiting to catch fire.