Ross Chastain has zero regrets about stealing the show Sunday at the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing finished first in the final race of the season at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona. Chastain won despite not being one of the four championship-eligible drivers.
Chastain battled late in the race with Ryan Blaney, who won the Cup Series championship.
Blaney’s No. 12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske finished second, ahead of fellow finalists William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. However, Blaney was not happy with Chastain making his life difficult on the track.
At one point while the two were battling for the race lead, Blaney’s Ford bumped Chastain’s Chevy in frustration. Blaney even flipped off Chastain with 57 laps to go (video here).
Chastain was not oblivious to Blaney’s harbored animosity — he just did not care.
“I knew he was mad. I did not care then. I do not care now,” Chastain said after the race.
The Trackhouse Racing driver stated that he had no intention of wrecking Blaney and ruining the finalist’s chances at the championship. But Chastain intentionally blocked Blaney and used dirty air at every opportunity to gain an edge and eventually win the race — his fourth in the Cup Series.
Chastain is the first non-championship-eligible driver to win the season finale race since the playoff elimination format first began in 2014.
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