Ross Chastain Reveals Why at Times “It’s Acceptable to Just Crash These Expensive Race Cars”

The second round of the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs is almost here, and the anticipation is building. Since none of the contenders have been winning, the pressure is on and drivers will start getting aggressive. None more so than Ross Chastain, who has built up a reputation for himself, much to everyone else’s annoyance.

Recently, he spoke about his stance on aggressive, no-holds-barred driving.

He said, “What’s so great about this sport and this series at this level is we’re allowed to just go and crash. That’s on restarts, on a mile-and-a-half, or a short track, or racing all day at a superspeedway.”

“I feel like it’s acceptable to just crash these expensive race cars.”

“It’s a wild spot for me to be in, just mentally making that decision that I’m going to go put myself in that spot that I could be crashed or I could cause a crash.”

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Chastain thought about this because of his Xfinity Series days. Around that time, he used to race for JD Motorsports, which was an underfunded team.

Owing to the lack of funds, he knew that he could not afford to wreck his car too often. In light of this, the transition from protecting the car to racing more freely must have been jarring.

What else did Ross Chastain say about his stance?

He continued, “I just watched Bayley Currey go and take the No. 4 car (for JD Motorsports) and run top three with it at Bristol and was fine. Then it came down to the end and some late restarts and I could tell he was protecting his car and he finished 11th.”

“I know he wanted a 10th. Not that I ever ran top three in Johnny’s car, but there was times where you go and you’re fast enough and then it comes down to the end and it’s like Man, weighing out that risk versus reward.”

He acknowledged that Currey did a far better job of preserving the car. However, Ross Chastain admitted that drivers are always worried about crashing and not finishing a race. In spite of that, they will be perfectly willing to trade paint with other opponents and be more robust.

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He recalled an incident during his first Xfinity practice session in the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing car at Darlington. Around that time, he was complaining about the car being loose.

As a result, he was pretty far off the pace, but his crew chief managed to set him straight. He revealed that there was a backup car on standby, so there was no need to treat the primary car so delicately. With that, Chastain won the pole in qualifying.