On Sunday’s NASCAR season finale, Trackhouse Racing star Ross Chastain broke a longstanding law of the land. By clinching the chequered flag at the pole position he became the first and only driver outside the Championship 4 to win a season finale race. Ever since the current playoff format was introduced in 2014, no driver has achieved this feat. Though he left many in high spirits at the end, including his #1 crew and his team owner Justin Marks, one person who wasn’t quite happy with him was the freshly crowned NASCAR champion.

At the Phoenix Raceway, apart from the closely watched battles for the lead among the Championship 4 drivers, another intense drama was going on—one between Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain. Though the Team Penske star had enough to be atop his Championship contenders, he wasn’t pleased with the way he was being blocked by Chastain to take the lead. Questioned on the champion’s anger in the post-race interview, the #1 driver was maybe a bit too honest with his thoughts.

Ross Chastain reasons his race moves despite not caring about Ryan Blaney’s feelings

For Ross Chastain, all that was on his mind was to grab the win. After getting the better of his idol Kevin Harvick in the initial stages of the race, he led for 157 laps throughout the race and earned his victory. In the process, he used every trick that he had to make sure that the particularly dominant Mustang of Ryan Blaney did not get past him. He purposefully blocked the champion’s Chevrolet multiple times, which warranted the Mustang to hit his Camaro in frustration. Thankfully, it did not lead to a major collision but left Blaney seething with anger.

Talking to the media in the post-race interview, Chastain expressed his carefree attitude when it came to Blaney‘s feelings. He said, “Yeah, I know he’s mad and I don’t care. I do not care. I did not care then, I do not care now. I’m here to race him. I’m not going to wreck him. […] I’m not going to slide up and pinch him at all. It’s in my mind the entire time, for sure.”

While Chastain said that he was never going to do enough to wreck a Championship 4 contender, Blaney had little trust in the driver. The #1 star is after all known for his aggressive driving style, even earning the moniker of “wrecking ball’ from his peers. Frustrated that he was pulling off tricks in a crucial race, Blaney told Racer’s Kelly Crandall that he felt as though Chastain was “holding him up.”

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Ross Chastain does not see enough cause for Ryan Blaney’s anger after open admission

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From Ryan Blaney’s viewpoint, he had to stay ahead of fellow contender Kyle Larson who was chasing him. With an entire season’s work at stake, his anger did appear justified. Acknowledging that he had hit the back of Chastain’s Chevy, Blaney had admitted, “Well, f***ing right, I hit him on purpose. He blocked me on purpose 10 times.” With 56 laps remaining in the race, the Team Penske driver had taken enough from Chastain. Anger overpouring, he flipped a birdie at the non-championship driver unable to overtake him.

Continuing on his own interview, the Trackhouse star still couldn’t see a reason for Blaney to be angry at him. Reacting to his actions and words, Chastain said, “Anger. He gets angry. It’s okay. I’ve known him for a decade. I could see him moving around in the car. I could see his colorful suit and gloves. […] I was like, ‘Oh, he is angry.’ Yeah, the caution came out and we made the right adjustment and were able to drive away. Yeah, it’s nothing other than wanting to win and hold track position. He could run second and win the championship. He did it last year. He can do it again.”

With Chastain and Blaney taking the first two spots, Kyle Larson and William Byron rounded off the top 4. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell had the worst final run as he had to retire his car after blowing the rotor on his right front tire. While Blaney was, and perhaps is, still holding on to his anger against Chastain, the fact that he did end up winning the championship ought to provide some relief.

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