Ross Chastain aims to be among Top-10 at season’s end
AVONDALE, Ariz. — While four drivers will battle for the NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday at Phoenix, another driver has his sight set on another battle a little deeper in the field.
Entering the final race of the season, Ross Chastain is 12 points behind Bubba Wallace for tenth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 11th overall.
“We’re right on his heels,” Chastain said to The Racing Experts. “One slip, we’re there.”
Chastain emphasized that finishing among the Top-10 in points is a point of pride for drivers.
He acknowledged making the playoffs is priority, but being among the Top-10 at the end of the year is towards the top of the list of priorities.
“I feel like we’ve been raised in the Top-5, Top-10, Top-15, Top-20 mentality,” Chastain said. “I believe that in finishing position, I believe that in points finishing position.”
Chastain has finished among the Top-10 twice in his career; first doing so as the runner-up in 2022, and ninth the following season. The Trackhouse Racing driver did not make the playoffs last season.
As for Wallace, the 23XI Racing driver has finished among the Top-10 once; in 2023, when he finished 10th overall.
Chastain will start the NASCAR Cup Series championship race 13th, while Wallace will start 23rd.
The Significance of Top-10
Prior to the playoff/Chase era of NASCAR, the Top-10 in points at season’s end was of great emphasis.
The accolade allowed the Top-10 overall finishers to take the stage at the NASCAR Awards Banquet, held then in New York City.
The banquet used to be broadcasted live on national network television. The Top-10 drivers were the opportunity to speak in front of a nationally televised audience to thank their team, sponsors, etc.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.