The watermelon man is not having the sweetest time this season! Going into the race, he wasn’t worried about the playoff picture, but now the situation is definitely different. After Pocono, he finds himself in the playoff bubble. He just proved why in NASCAR that “sweet spot” to race comfortably doesn’t exist and the only thing that works is to — show up, be fast, sit on the pole, and win the race!

The race at Pocono has Ross Chastain feeling a whirlwind of emotions, from surprise to disappointment. And very quickly, he went from being comfortable to being conscious!

Time to buckle up for Ross Chastain and his team!

Ross Chastain was off to a terrible start in Pocono, so bad that he had to settle for 36th place in the end! His car had scraped into the turn 1 wall and the damage was terminal due to broken control arms in the right front, which the team confirmed after he scurried his way back to the pit lane with the Chevy. He was the second driver to call it a day after Noah Gragson, who wrecked in the opening stage. After the race, undoubtedly he was disappointed, but mostly surprised as he just didn’t have a reason why he spun out. He said, “I just spun out. I just flat spun out. We’re all sliding around but I just spun out.”

When Ross Chastain hopped into the race, he was sitting comfortably in 12th place in the cup series standings, about 53 points ahead of the playoff elimination line. And with his 36th finish, he is now below Buescher and it just puts him in a tough spot, because he is yet again in the playoff bubble. This should ring alarm bells because he is now the last driver on the professional playoffs grid! And he is already worried and disappointed after simply sliding wide, it’s like his worst fears came true at Pocono, which does not spell great for the upcoming races. He said, “I’m just worried about why I spun out. I’m a race car driver in the Cup Series. I shouldn’t be doing that. You don’t see us do that too often. So when I do it myself, I’m as surprised as everybody else.”

His right-rear quarter panel caught the SAFER barrier before a right-front crunch and he just emphasized that being a cup driver, he should have been able to avoid that on time, but he failed. Later his crew chief Phil Surgen did say to NASCAR that Chastain had warned about the car sliding. He said, “So I think a couple of laps prior, he had said that the car’s freed up now and needs some right-rear grip, so it was on the loose side there. Just unfortunate.”

This is the time for Surgen and the No. 1 to hit the panic button–because he now just holds a 27-point margin over Bubba Wallace. And just five races remain till the playoffs start and everyone is out to bite. And Chastain was even reminded prior to the race to buckle up by Kevin Harvick.

Kevin Harvick’s wild guess comes true!

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Kevin Harvick might be a legendary race-car driver, an awesome podcaster, and an analyst, but he can also very well fit in the role of fortune teller soon! Because he had made a wild guess and given a heads-up to Ross Chastain and it was spot-on! 

Harvick expressed his concerns about Ross Chastain on his podcast, stating that the team lacks the “fire” to win races and perform well. According to Harvick, this missing spark will make it challenging for them to move forward, as every team on the field is giving their best effort to win races He said, “I’m concerned with the 1 that they have the speed that they need to do what they need to do on a weekly basis. We haven’t seen the laps led and things that you would expect from them.”

And he even made a wild guess that Pocono would be won by someone good on the bigger racetracks and someone outside the top 16, which should be worrisome for Chastain and even Buescher. Kevin Harvick in his podcast said, “I think that’s the wild card in this thing. I think when you look at Pocono and you look at Indy, you look at Michigan, I think you’re going to have your guys that have been good on the bigger racetracks be the guys that can win.” And reigning champion Ryan Blaney, just took the race win home, proving him right.  

Many drivers, from the likes of Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch, are still looking for that elusive win and make their way to the playoffs. This, according to Harvick, may become a deal-breaker for the No. 1 team. And while Busch still struggled, Bubba Wallace finished in top-10 so one knows that he is indeed pushing himself. Harvick said, “Look at Michigan, Bubba Wallace has been great there. Kyle Busch has been good there. And even at that particular track, I think you could go there and see someone outside of the top 16 winning races.” Michigan is right around the corner and the gap from Wallace to Chastain is now just 27 points!

Well, hopefully, Chastain and the team take Harvick’s advice and find that missing “fire” and go and win races. And given that Harvick has mentioned Michigan not once but twice, paying more attention to this can only do the No. 1 team good!