Trackhouse Racing’s star driver suffered a major setback last weekend. Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet, was on the cusp of victory at Nashville Superspeedway. However, the chaos that unfolded in the closing laps sealed his fate, along with that of others.
But interestingly, it was a Hendrick Motorsports driver who caused his fall from the front row. This is a clear reminder of what happened last year, when Chastain’s rowdy behavior prompted a warning from Rick Hendrick. However, Chastain decided to keep his cool in Nashville and fans came up with some suspicious theories.
Ross Chastain may have changed
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NASCAR has an army of stormtroopers, or drivers, who inevitably create a conflict or two at races. Ross Chastain is one of them, as his notorious behavior has often drawn criticism from his peers. Last year, during a rain-delayed race at Dover, the watermelon farmer pushed Brennan Poole across the track and crashed into Kyle Larson, eliminating both of them.
Just six days after this incident, Ross Chastain crashed Noah Gragson into the wall with 60 laps remaining in the race at Kansas. This led to a passionate fistfight after the race, which also sparked concern from drivers such as Kevin Harvick. But Rick Hendrick was not at all happy about another incident with Larson just a few weeks later.
Ross Chastain ran into Kyle Larson again and crashed his car at Darlington Raceway. Hendrick sternly stated after this incident: “I don’t care if he drives a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars,” Hendrick said. “I don’t care, and I told Chevrolet that. If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back. And if you don’t, you’re going to get run over. I’m loyal to Chevrolet, but when someone runs over us, I expect my guys to stand their ground.” However, currently, it seems that Ross Chastain is mending his ways, or at least he’s calm.
At last weekend’s Nashville race, Chastain battled with Larson and Denny Hamlin for the lead. But on the second overtime restart on Lap 305, Larson appeared to unintentionally bump into Chastain’s left rear. That push sent the No. 1 spinning hard into the wall, while Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 also hit him ferociously.
Considering she was so close to victory, everyone expected Chastain to be angry. However, on the contrary, she spoke amicably to reporters after the race, showing no signs of frustration and saying nothing about the accident. But fans are not very convinced by her change of attitude, as they took part in an online debate.
The NASCAR community weaves some theories
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NASCAR fans always have a tendency to make up spicy rumors. One user on a Reddit page recently blamed Rick Hendrick’s board of directors for the way they’ve treated Chastain on the track. “Like it or not, HMS drivers have purposely hit and dumped him, multiple times, and across the board.” The user then added their theory about Chastain’s seemingly soft attitude: “I think he’s doing it on purpose, as some sort of apology, but it’s going to be a weird playoffs if he doesn’t participate.”
Fans had a mixed reaction to this far-fetched idea. Some partially agreed, as one fan reflected on Hendrick’s stern warning last year after Darlington. “Not exactly. But he definitely changed after Hendrick’s talk. So whatever Rick told him, it must have really struck a chord with Rossy.” Another fan had a similar take, but involving Chevy: “Regardless of what Hendrick actually said to Chastain on that phone call… by the end, I could totally believe Rick whispering into the phone, ‘You’ll never have to leave Chevy…call me.’ LOL.”
But others blamed Trackhouse Racing for failing to adequately prepare Ross Chastain. “Once Trackhouse decides to build faster cars, he will quickly become a championship threat year after year.”
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Another fan said it’s just a matter of time before Chastain gets revenge on his rivals. He’s too smart to reveal his emotions publicly, as he wore a rather meaningful smile in interviews. “Ross will take advantage of every HMS car he can during the playoffs. He’s too smart to say anything about it ahead of time.”
Ross Chastain’s change in behavior is clearly drawing the attention of NASCAR fans. Let’s wait and see if the No. 1 driver can take over the No. 1 spot in the upcoming races.
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