Although a championship race is on the cards, the mood suggests otherwise. Last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series witnessed multiple acts of blatant rule infractions. What is more? Chevrolet played a sleight of hand to try and get a Hendrick Motorsports driver, William Byron, in the playoffs. However, while the OEM and Byron got away without a scratch, the people supporting both bore the brunt of massive penalties. Ross Chastain was one of them, but he is in denial.

The Trackhouse Racing star could not make the playoffs this year. Yet he is very focused on spoiling his rivals’ championship hopes—Chastain won the Round of 12 opener in Kansas. So now he is gathering his strength to replicate his 2023 feat while ignoring the one time he tried to stick up for his manufacturer teammate.

Ross Chastain is tight-lipped about controversy

We are on the cusp of the 2024 Cup Series championship and at the same time wrapped in the greatest controversy of the year. During the final laps of the Xfinity 500 race, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon paid heed to their Chevrolet higher-ups. Due to a damaged toe link, William Byron fell back from the front to 6th place by lap 471.

So Chastain and Dillon formed a ‘rolling roadblock’ to stop William Byron from dropping back further. In the process, they invited massive punishment – a $100,000 fine to each team, 50-point point DQ, and crew suspensions for both teams. Although Trackhouse Racing appealed against the penalty, its request was turned down. So Chastain is willing to forget that painful setback.

Ross Chastain was clear in a recent press conference for the Phoenix Raceway finale. In other words, he was clear about being tight-lipped and silent about his penalty. He dropped a bold 6-word declaration: “I’ve no comment on last week.” Further attempts by the media to extract an iota of opinion about the Martinsville fiasco also fell through. Chastain continued his insistence on talking about his Phoenix run: “Not going to comment on last week, but this week I have multiple needs driving my car…and make good decisions on the track. The best thing I can do is focus on this week and try to win again.”

Indeed, Ross Chastain has plenty to look forward to in the upcoming race. In 2022, he finished 3rd in the championship finale while still in the playoffs, clinching 2nd place in the standings. A year ago, he broke a 10-year trend of a playoff driver winning the Cup Series championship race.

Leading 157 laps, Chastain won in Phoenix and embarrassed Cup title winner Ryan Blaney, who washed up second. This year as well, the melon farmer is the favorite with +2000 odds to win again, according to SportsLine. However, the Martinsville controversy is hanging like a dark cloud over his Phoenix chances.

And Ross Chastain is not the only one this penalty is haunting. Yet another driver in his situation took a defiant stance.

Bell feels he was ‘cheated’

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A different Martinsville story is still hot on the other side of the race field. Christopher Bell was hot in contention with Byron for the last point-based position in the Final Four. So his Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace slowed down to let Bell pass, as the latter executed a wall ride. Not only was Wallace penalized, but Bell was also docked points for his ‘Hail Melon’ move. Ross Chastain invented that in 2022, and it has been outlawed ever since.

However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, usually known for his pacified, reticent nature, spoke out. Christopher Bell is adamant on feeling “cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship.” 

The No. 20 Toyota driver further claimed that Chevy was responsible. Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon’s extracurricular tactics ultimately drove Wallace to do something for his teammate. “Yeah, I mean, it all stems from what happened earlier, [with] 15 [or] 20 [laps] to go, whenever the race got fixed and manipulated by Chevrolet that forced our hands to do what we did and ultimately it forced me into a mistake on the last lap to get into the wall. And I feel like I should never have been in that position, had the race been run fairly. The 24 car would have lost enough spots to get me into the final race.”

Evidently, the Martinsville roadrunner has different approaches to the fiasco. Ross Chastain is tight-lipped, while Christopher Bell is vocally outraged. However, for now, we can turn our attention to Chastain’s chances in Phoenix, which are actually huge.