What a battle to the finish it was at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the end, it was no longer a fight between two drivers but between two teams. Trackhouse vs Penske! On one side, we had Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, and on the other side Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain. Chastain, although, out of the playoffs, did everything in his power to push the Spaniard past the two-time Cup Series Champion.

In the end, the team more in sync took the chequered flag! Although Penske won, at first it looked like the Trackhouse pair would give Suarez an Atlanta sweep, but that was not the case. Daniel Suarez knew it was “game over” when he lost his help from the ‘Melon Man.’ This could have been the underdog’s strong chance to win some crucial playoff points.

Daniel Suarez misses out as Chastain falls behind

Such a battle is rare to see and was truly entertaining to watch, and here’s how the excitement unfolded. On the final restart, Suarez briefly took the lead over Logano, with Chastain linking up with him. However, Logano received a significant boost from Blaney on the inside line, allowing him to regain the top position. Suarez’s attempt to maintain his lead on the outside ultimately faltered, as Logano’s momentum on the inside proved decisive. Chastain falling back enabled Logano to win, otherwise, the Trackhouse pair might have taken the win.

Jeff Gluck, mentioning the same in the recent Dirty Mo Media podcast, said, “The teammates on the top with Chastain and Suarez. No chance Chastain is gonna leave Suarez’s back bumper. Because while Blaney also could use a win to advance the next round and he’s gonna stick with Logano.” While Blaney too needs a win, Chastain has nothing to gain but just aid his teammate’s journey. On the final lap, Chastain hit the wall while trying to get back to Suarez for one last push, which caused him to lose control and led to a stack-up behind him.

Eventually, Logano finished in P1, followed by Suarez and Blaney in P2 and P3. And Chastain in P13. Regardless of the results, Suarez thanked his teammate. He said, “I can’t thank [Chastain] enough because he pushed me very, very good on the restart, all the way in (Turns) 1 and 2, all the way in (Turns) 3 and 4. He kept me in position, and we were right there in the fight. I was timing the second push and once I got the second push, I lost him.” 

Even Logano believed things could have been different if Chastain had continued to push Suarez. Post the race he said, “I mean there’s definitely things could have looked differently. I think we still would have been in pretty good shape. I have to go back and really rewatch it to know for sure, but the push he gave me down the front stretch taking the white was a key move to be able to do that. And so I think that was a big help, that was probably the biggest help of the whole thing.”

In the end, however, Chastain stayed true to his words about helping the #99 ahead of the Atlanta race.

Ross Chastain vowed to help Suarez

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While Suarez got his playoff berth quite early in the season, Ross Chastain struggled. This season marked Chastain’s first on missing out on the playoffs since joining Trackhouse in 2022. Although his hopes for the championship were over, he committed to helping out his teammate. Before the race, he had said, “If there is an opportunity to push the N0. 99, make a hole for him, do anything to help the No. 99, absolutely we are all in. That starts with building the race cars at the shop, picking tire pressures, settings, and setups.”

A championship for Suarez would mean a championship for the Trackhouse, and that’s what he wishes. Not just him, his entire #1 team is on the ready to help the racing team get their first championship. Chastain came close in 2022. It was a surprising turn of events when the Florida watermelon farmer not only secured his first two Cup wins but also qualified for the Championship 4 and narrowly missed out on the title, finishing second to Joey Logano.

Ever since he’s eyeing that championship, if not for himself, then for his team. “Daniel and I have our differences in the way we drive, and our teams have their differences in how they operate, but my crew chief made it clear to (Matt Swiderski), I’ve made it clear to Daniel and our leadership group at Trackhouse. The No. 1 team will help however we can, he added.”

Everyone knows Chastain’s determination cannot be doubted. After all, who can forget the Hail Melon move that got him in the 2023 playoffs? If he says he’ll do anything and everything for Suarez, we probably can take his word for it. What did you think of the Trackhouse vs Penske battle for the finish? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.