The Pocono race last Sunday shuffled the playoff grid significantly. Ryan Blaney stamped his second in of the season and shot up the ranks. He is currently bunking with the multiple-time winners, occupying fifth place in the drivers standings. But the polar end of the field is not so bright for a Trackhouse Racing driver.

Ross Chastain found himself slipping from his anchor in the playoffs. A mysterious spin on the Tricky Triangle was to blame. As Chastain suffered, Bubba Wallace soared ahead; the 23XI Racing driver now has little ground to cover for repeating his 2023 playoff luck.

Ross Chastain falters and makes way for his rival

The No. 1 Chevrolet driver headed into the Great American Getaway 400 race in a relatively comfortable spot. Ross Chastain was 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, with a 53-point cushion separating him from the playoff elimination line. But Pocono Raceway hacked the security of his position, dropping him to 27 points behind the cutline. Starting 19th at the 400-miler, Chastain ran into an early setback.

The No. 1 Chevy not only broke loose in Turn 3 on the 53rd lap but also made significant right-side contact with the outside retaining wall. This debacle sidelined him for the rest of the race and brought him closer to missing the playoffs. But on the other hand, it boosted Bubba Wallace‘s position.

The 23XI Racing driver fetched a top-ten finish and progressed to the 16th in standings, making him -27 to the cutline. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain was heard scratching his head, “I am just worried about why I spun out. As a race car driver in the Cup Series, I shouldn’t be doing that.” 

PRN Live expanded on this situation in a recent video, and host Brad explained Chastain’s dropping performance. “He lost a lot of points to Bubba Wallace…nearly 30 points in that exchange right there…just him having a solo spin at Pocono…You go back and look at his season, in terms of average finishes he’s right up there, he’s around 7th. But points standings-wise, he’s been dropping down…Chastain will go out there and lead practice and start 21st.”

Further blaming the No. 1 Chevy for Chastain’s performance, Brad said, “There’s something missing in the speed of that racecar right now…They’re not collecting any stage points and that has made a huge difference in where they are this year.”

This sharply contrasts with where Ross Chastain was at this time last year. Chastain soared to victory in the 2023 Nashville race. He had 14 top-tens and 10 top-fives, contrary to his 7 top-tens and 2 top-fives so far this season. Chastain topped off the year with a win at Phoenix Raceway, embarrassing Ryan Blaney in his championship title pursuit. Compared to that time, the Trackhouse driver is struggling this year. He admitted in an exclusive EssentiallySports interview that he “used to be” the Lucky Dog of NASCAR.

Yet the No. 1 Chevy team is keeping up hopes, as the crew chief recently proclaimed.

Chastain may still make a breakthrough

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Ross Chastain started out in 2015 in the Xfinity Series and fiercely advanced through the ranks. His ebullient personality stood out in the field, as he frequently locked horns with his rivals. In his first stint at Trackhouse in the 2022 Cup Series season, Chastain fetched two wins as firsts for the team. And his runs are pretty strong—he gives no respite to the NASCAR heavyweights, trailing them throughout races.

So Phil Surgen, the No. 1 crew chief, believes in Ross Chastain’s capability. He emphasized the need to reevaluate and come back with a charge after the Pocono debacle. “We’ll just have to evaluate after today what happened to the other guys. They might end up in a similar situation and it won’t be much different — or things could look altogether different if we get a flyer that is back in points to win or something. We’ll see what happens. Like you said, the mindset doesn’t change. You’re gonna show up every week, try to be as fast as you can, sit on pole, win the race. As we close in at the end of the regular season, depending on where we are relative to those cars we’re racing, that’ll probably change the amount of risk we take for a win.”

As the playoffs loom large on the horizon, Ross Chastain’s chances dwindle further. Let us wait and see if the Trackhouse team can work on a war footing to change their falling narrative. Do you see Chastain making the playoffs this season?