Ross Chastain: ‘We did everything right’
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With a handful of laps left in Monday’s Daytona 500, Ross Chastain avoided “The Big One” and found himself in the lead.
He avoided being caught up in “The Big One” with seven laps to go. The next restart presented his best chance at winning the Great American Race.
When the race resumed with four laps to go, Chastain was shuffled from leading, but had the opportunity to charge back to the front coming to the white flag lap on leader William Byron.
Chastain, making a move to Byron’s inside, was met by the right-front of Austin Cindric’s No. 2 machine and the two made contact, sending both cars spinning towards the infield of the track.
Byron won the race, Chastain ultimately finished 21st. Yet, Chastain was satisfied with how he raced.
“I know the top is the logical thing and it makes sense when the third lane is split up,” Chastain said. “It just pulls us back and we still had a shot though. I really do feel content. It’s weird to say it, but we did everything right.”
Chastain picked up eight stage points with his third-place finish in Stage 1 and is ranked 17th in points leaving Daytona.
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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.