Ross Chastain kicked off NASCAR’s summer swing by smashing a summer time favorite fruit on the start finish line at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night.
The humble watermelon farmer outdueled veteran Martin Truex Jr on a late pit stop to nab his first win of the year and secure his spot in the NASCAR playoffs for the second year in a row. Only six unclaimed spots remain before the 16-driver field is set just 9 weeks from now.
With less than 60 laps left in the race, Chastain and Truex dueled on track— against each other and lapped cars, and on pit road, where it came down to a conquest of the crewmen.
In the closing laps however, the gap was just too large and Chastain held off MTJ for the win, a sort of “hometown” win for Trackhouse team owner Justin Marks.
Tyler Reddick, who was absent from the top 10, was having a solid run before a tire came loose and he spun, landing him 2 laps down and in 30th place.
And, for once, “Ross Chastain” and “controversy” will grace headlines together for separate reasons. While Chastain graces papers as “winner”, Ryan Blaney is at the center of controversy for something largely not his fault.
On a lap 147 restart in the middle of the second stage, the field stacked up and Ryan Blaney was sent into the inside wall, which was solid concrete as opposed to the SAFER Barrier, which is featured at almost every circuit on the schedule.
This sparked a discussion online about tracks with awkward angles and no SAFER Barriers (see Brad Keselowski’s 2018 Brickyard wreck).
Some fans also noted that Blaney seemed “off” in his post-wreck media availability, much like the later concussed Noah Gragson after his wreck at St Louis.
Erik Jones brought home a solid top-10, his 3rd of the season, for the struggling Legacy Motor Club team, a hopeful step in the right direction after an otherwise abysmal season thus far.
Next week, the Cup Series and Xfinity Series will take on the biggest wild card of the season.
The tight and narrow (with NO runoffs) Chicago Street Course around Grant Park in downtown Chicago is sure to put on a chaotic show and potentially provide a surprise winner.
Expect more than just 4th of July patriotic fireworks this weekend.
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The Slow Restart 