Despite Ross Chastain Costing His Team a Much-Needed Victory, Dale Earnhardt Jr Strongly Backs His Controversial Approach

Ross Chastain has unquestionably been closely scrutinized in the NASCAR Cup Series. The recent incident at Darlington, where Chastain was involved in a late wreck with Kyle Larson, once again placed him at the center of attention. Chastain faced criticism from many who held him responsible for the crash, but he strangely received support from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

During an episode of Dale Jr Download, the NASCAR Veteran discussed the situation and shed light on Chastain’s perspective.

In the closing laps of the race, the top contenders, Chastain and Larson, were battling side by side. Unfortunately, they made contact, leading to a crash that cost both cars quite a bit.

Ross Chastain receives criticism from all around

Following the crash at Darlington, Chastain faced criticism from numerous individuals, including Larson’s boss and owner of Hendrick Motorsports. He stated, “He doesn’t have to be that aggressive, and I guess at this point in the race maybe you’re super aggressive, but you just don’t run people up in the fence or just — he’s not going to — he’s going to make a lot of enemies.”

Chastain took responsibility for the crash and openly admitted his mistake. As per racingamerica.com, he stated. “I’ll learn from it. I’m human. I’m going to make mistakes – I don’t want to make them on that stage or that manner, but I’m going to be better for it.”

Despite all of this, motorsport icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. emerged to support Ross Chastain’s approach.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr backing up Ross Chastain

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Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson were battling for the lead with six laps to go. As Dale Jr discussed the scenario at Darlington, he backed Chastain for his move in the race.

During the recent episode of Dale Jr Download, the JR Motorsports owner stated. “Larson did really good job at restart basically what I’m curious about is how they feel about the lane they chose. So, Ross beat Larson on the outside and became the control car. When the caution comes out like that, Ross gave Larson the blueprint to the next restart”

In the race, Larson took the outside lane while Chastain stayed inside. They were door to door, both vying for the lead, but made contact, resulting in the subsequent incident. Dale Jr supported Chastain, acknowledging that it was a situation that couldn’t be predicted or avoided.

Referring to an earlier restart in the race, Dale added, “When the restart happens Chastain wants to launch and be clear, but he showed Larson [on the] restart before how to beat it, on the outside.”

“Even in that moment… Can you trust everyone to hold their lot and not make contact? I don’t know. It’s hard to do.”

READ MORE: Dale Earnhardt Jr Offers a Peculiarly Cool 3-Word Take on Ross Chastain & Kyle Larson’s Unanticipated Darlington Drama

What do you think about Chastain’s aggressive racing?