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“Selfish” Ross Chastain Publicly Bashes NASCAR’s Controversial Atlanta Ruling: “Haven’t Heard a Legitimate Answer”

Published 02/24/2024, 8:45 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Ross Chastain opens up about NASCAR’s weird practice rules ahead of the Atlanta race. Trackhouse Racing’s #1 driver slams the stock car racing association for their disaccord towards practice schedules. Surprisingly, he is not the only driver in the Cup Series to have this complaint, Shane van Gisbergen also voiced his opinions on the same.

Proper instances of practice sessions can lead to a more safe and well-grounded race. Especially when it involves a lot of young, and inexperienced drivers. Taking this into consideration, Ross Chastain decided to take a dig at NASCAR. Wonder what did the 31-year-old say about this?

“I’m selfish…”, said Ross Chastain

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All other sports are acquainted with thorough practice sessions before a game. But, the same does not apply to NASCAR anymore. The authorities scrapped the necessary practice sessions to accommodate their hefty schedules. Speaking in an interview, Chastain’s response was something that every driver would want before a race.

Ross Chastain raised questions and enquired as to why they should not practice. He further went on to add that he did not receive a valid response from the authorities regarding this. “Let us practice, it’s what we want, these teams and drivers…. I think I just speak for myself. I want to practice, Trackhouse wants to practice, why we’re not? And I haven’t heard a legitimate answer other than we don’t practice,” said Chastain.

When another interviewer countered Chastain’s response by saying that the logic they’ve heard of is that denying everyone from practice keeps everyone off balance. Chastain quickly replied, I’m selfish, I’m with the best team in the garage, I want practice.

Read More: Denny Hamlin: Ross Chastain’s Wreck-Triggering Move Cost Him a Daytona Championship

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Now it looks like the issue, however, is something that these drivers want to be addressed at the earliest. The changing of the nature of tracks, especially like Atlanta is one of the biggest reasons why practices should be brought back to NASCAR.

The ever-changing nature of Atlanta Motor Speedway

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Race tracks changing their nature is eventually not something unheard of. Ross Chastain emphasized that the same thing happenes at Atlanta’s famous speedway. As a result, cars tend to lose its grip and drivers feel like it’s a different track altogether. According to Ross Chastain, “It’s changing every time we come here, I think it was the most grip it ever will have when they first repaved it, and every time we came back it lost grip. So to me, it’s not the same place. It’s early in its life but it’s changing quickly.”

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USA Today via Reuters

Other than that, the pits and lanes on the tracks are sure to be different. One can certainly not expect a Daytona experience on an Atlanta track. As NASCAR becomes dynamic the drivers from age group 18–20, will also be driving there. If NASCAR doesn’t approve of practice, the same old multiple-car wreck can be a common sight to behold in future races.

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Written by:

Mamata Mukherjee

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Mamata Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Combining her love for writing and motorsports she has created some interesting and in-depth stories on drivers like Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Coming to ES with 3 years of experience in the field of writing, Mamata feels right at home in her role as a NASCAR Journalist.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta