Ross Chastain Stayed True to His DNA Despite Failing To Steal the Spotlight From Ryan Blaney

Ross Chastain has never been one to take caution when it matters the most. Remember the move he pulled last season in Martinsville? The Trackhouse Racing driver has a knack for being aggressive when there is a chance of victory and that is exactly what he demonstrated in Phoenix. He might not have won the Cup Series on the day but he didn’t budge for anyone, championship driver or not. It did end up having a rather detrimental effect on Ryan Blaney during the race.

With his P1 finish at the Phoenix Raceway, Ross Chastain recorded the fourth win of his career and the second of the season. Things might have been topsy-turvy for the no. 1 team and Trackhouse Racing, but they will be going into the off-season with something to be proud of. Chastain’s fearless performance proved that he simply wouldn’t let anyone off the hook if he had a chance to win. That is just not in his DNA.

Ross Chastain made history and played a big role in the title fight

The driver of the no. 1 car made history in Phoenix on Sunday. Ever since the Championship 4 format began, Ross Chastain became the first non-championship driver to win the championship race. The 30-year-old rarely finds himself in a position to win a race. So it is no wonder that he didn’t give an inch to anyone.

The Trackhouse Racing man, however, never impeded on anyone’s race. What he did was nothing but clean and hard racing. Ryan Blaney can bump the #1 car all he wants but on the day, Ross Chastain outperformed him. The Florida-born driver had some feisty battles with the likes of Blaney and Kyle Larson and even pulled off some incredibly skillful moves.

While all of the focus was on Ryan Blaney at the end of Phoenix, no one can take away the brilliant drive that Chastain pulled off in the final race of the 2023 season. Unfortunately, the Trackhouse Racing star was eliminated in the round of 12. Had he made it to Phoenix, this would have perhaps been one of the greatest championship races of all time.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that Ross Chastain’s performance directly affected the battle for the championship on more than one occasion. The most obvious evidence of this is the driver of the #1 refusing to let Blaney by. This frustrated the Team Penske man, who almost lost his bearings in the most important race of his career. But that’s not all.

With 30 laps to go, Ryan Blaney found himself in P5 while Kyle Larson was running P1 with fresh air in front of him. Chastain made an ambitious move around the outside which paid off and the Trackhouse man found himself ahead of the #5. This took away Larson’s fresh air advantage and it was only a matter of time before Blaney passed him. Had Chastain not made that move, we might have crowned a different Cup Series champion.

The 30-year-old was an exhausted man after what was a grueling race. Nevertheless, it was all worth it as he only had good things to say about his team.

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Trackhouse Racing star revels after defying the odds in Phoenix

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At the end of the race, the Trackhouse Racing star expressed his gratitude to the team for what they had achieved. The season might not have panned out as well as they had hoped. But there is a lot to look forward to in 2024.

“We did something else that’s never been done before,” Chastain said as per motorsport.com. “For everyone on this team, this vision for Trackhouse and what this was, were goals like this. They were lofty. That last caution we were really tight. It saved us. Phil Surgen (crew chief) and this group at Trackhouse, all of our GM support staff, sim staff, everybody came up with a way to make this thing turn, and we drove off into the sunset.”

Not many people will remember Ross Chastain’s gritty victory in Phoenix as he was not crowned champion. However, if this performance can be a launch pad for the 30-year-old to be a consistent challenger for race wins, neither he nor his team would mind it even a little bit.

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