Ross Chastain had 'no chance' to win Autotrader 400 on final lap

Ross Chastain was in the mix at the front of the field throughout Sunday's Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway, but he didn't have a chance to fight for the win on the final lap. 

As Tyler Reddick led Chase Briscoe down the backstretch, Briscoe didn't back up to Chastain in an attempt to get a run, a common tactic at drafting tracks such as Atlanta. 

Chastain had to settle for a third-place finish on an evening where he very well could've been standing in victory lane. 

"Down the back, Tyler had another gear," Chastain told Fox Sports. "The 19 was tandem to me off of [turn] 2. We never had anything. I feel like the 19 meant to not back up to me. No chance at that point."

Atlanta a bounce-back race for Ross Chastain

Chastain did, at least, grab a solid result and jump into the provisional Chase field. After a disappointing 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15, Sunday was a return to form for the No. 1 team. 

Chastain will try and keep his momentum going at Circuit of the Americas on March 1. He scored his first Cup Series win at COTA in 2022 after a thrilling last-lap battle with Alex Bowman and AJ Allmendinger.