“I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet…If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back. If you don’t do it, they’ll run all over you.” After Rick Hendrick’s warning, Ross Chastain should have known better than to mess with Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Well, for some time, he did keep it down. The warning was issued in 2023, and look at 2024, we did not see the nonchalant, aggressive Chastain we are used to seeing. But after the recent Xfinity Series race in Darlington, it seems like he’s back, and Chase Elliott was the one to face his antics.

We knew this was coming. You can’t tame Ross Chastain for too long. Being raw and unapologetic is just how the watermelon farmer is. And he doesn’t care about getting the hate for running in hot waters with NASCAR’s Most Popular Drivers. Chastain raced Elliott hard at Darlington. However, Chastain doesn’t think he did. Especially after getting the kind of retaliation Elliott showed! And all this came after NASCAR specifically asked drivers to keep the Xfinity Series races clean.

Did Ross Chastain go too hard at Chase Elliott?

Folks, the Xfinity Series has been getting a bad name this season for quite some time. How Sam Mayer got into Kyle Larson on the final restart at Homestead, ruining Larson’s chances at a triple. And then, in the last race at Martinsville, Sammy Smith wrecked race leader Taylor Gray out of a win on the last lap. Mike Joy called it, “Dumpster fire.” Well, even Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior VP of Competition, called it a “disaster.” So, you can imagine the mess. Sawyer even said that NASCAR would have a chat with Xfinity drivers ahead of the Darlington race. And it feels like even these Cup guys should have been called to the meeting.

During a restart in the final stage of the race, Ross Chastain attempted a slider on Chase Elliott while they were racing inside the top 5. Chastain pushed Elliott too deep, causing him to lift, but Elliott still made contact with the outside wall. Obviously, Elliott was not happy about it. And to show his displeasure, Elliott drove to the side of Chastain while the race was under caution.

However, Chastain was left surprised by this, as he did not think he did anything wrong. In the post-race incident, Ross Chastain said, “I didn’t think we were close, and then he’s running up there next to me under caution. So I don’t know. I don’t take stuff as personal. I get angry, I get sad, I get mad. Y’all seen it, but I just react… I thought I left the #17 (Chase Elliott) enough room.”  

Well, Elliott seemed to have cooled down after the race. Maybe it was because it was just the Xfinity Series race and not the Cup race. Or maybe because, despite the incident, he still managed to finish in P2 while Chastain was P4. Post-race, Elliott opted for a rather sarcastic tone when asked about the Chastain incident. Jeff Gluck reported that Elliott said, “Nothing. I enjoyed it. It was great. Want more of it.”

But this wasn’t the first time Chastain got on Elliott’s nerves. Remember COTA? Or do you recall Crew chief Alan Gustafson telling Elliott over the radio: “We’re gonna have to pay that s— back because I’m over people like that constantly doing dumb s—. When we get a chance to send him, we’re sending that 1 car.” Well, this was since Chastain spun Elliott around on the very first turn of lap 1 in the race. However, all was well in the end since Chastain let Elliott pass quietly when he came looking to dump him.

However, after a P19 and a mundane end to the 2024 season, Chastain looks to be getting back to his original self, and Elliott wasn’t the only one who had a ‘Chastain problem’ in Darlington!

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Christopher Bell gets wrecked, too!

Well, Bell was having a great day in Darlington. Rather, it seemed like he would take on Brandon Jones and also the checkered flag. However, Ross Chastain had other plans. In the battle for P2 in the final stages of the race, Chastain took the bottom line to make a pass; however misjudged his entry back to the top lane, squeezing Bell on the outside wall. This ended up wrecking Bell’s left front, and eventually, Bell ended the race in P25.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was disappointed. We haven’t seen him and Chastain be aggressive with each other, but well, it’s Chastain, so you can never leave out the possibility of getting raced hard. Post the race, Bell said, “Before the damage, I felt like I was in a position to race for it. Yeah, he [Ross Chastain] just didn’t leave me a lane. Same move we have seen a couple of times from him. Certainly, if it happens on Sunday, it will be a big deal. I’m disappointed that he raced me like that. Ross and I have been really good for a while now. And I didn’t expect that from him.”

Also, unlike in Elliott’s case, Chastain admitted to his mistake. “I haven’t seen the replay, but I don’t think I left him enough room. I hurt his day and crinkled our fender, too. Yeah, pinched him for sure. I need to leave him a little more room.” And, well, Bell also did not react much to the incident, hoping the same doesn’t happen in the Cup race. If it does, we might see punches flying! But anyway, it’s sad. This could have been Bell’s second Darlington win in the Xfinity Series. However, one thing to celebrate here is that aggressive Ross Chastain is back!

What do you think, folks? Would he try something like this in the Cup race? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.