‘Working-Class Day’ Yields Runner-Up Finish For Chastain

Ross Chastain (1) leads a line of cars at Texas Motor Speedway. (David Rosenblum/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

FORT WORTH, Texas – Ross Chastain navigated a challenging race at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing second behind Joey Logano in overtime during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400.

Chastain faced a challenging day after starting the event in 31st place. He finished 24th in stage one and improved to 15th in stage two. But despite the grind, the native of Alva, Fla., gradually worked his way through the field throughout the afternoon.

After the 12th and final caution period of the race was cleared up, Chastain capitalized on the restart, pushing reigning Cup Series champion Logano out in front, allowing for Chastain to sweep by Ryan Blaney for second as the field came off turn two approaching the white flag.

Chastain managed to keep Blaney at bay from that point on, achieving his best finish of the Cup Series season after 12 races.

“Yeah, that's a working-class day,” said the five-time Cup Series winner and driver of the No. 1 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet. “That's enough reason to go to Tootsie's next time I'm in Nashville. I want to head straight there.”

But Chastain was also blunt about the overall speed of Trackhouse Racing, referencing both himself and his two teammates, Daniel Suárez and Shane van Gisbergen. He noted that the team struggled to find speed during Saturday's qualifying session.

However, he praised the exceptional work of his crew, which helped put Chastain in a strong position when the race came down to the final moments.

“Just [had] no confidence in the car yesterday. Just the speed of the Trackhouse cars on Saturdays has been terrible. We’re just not confident, all three drivers,” Chastain said. “But there was one pit stop today that Phil Surgen (crew chief) and the group – it takes a ton of people back at Trackhouse – they made me a confident driver all of a sudden with one adjustment.

“We made an adjustment during the race, and it fixed the car. All the problems we had yesterday and at the start of the race were gone. I was confident. I was not confident yesterday,” he continued. “You heard me in the booth say it. With just one adjustment, it brought this Tootsies Chevrolet to life, and that’s why you keep fighting.”

Chastain currently resides 11th in the Cup Series points standings, 62 points above the provisional playoff cut line as the Cup Series heads to America’s Heartland for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Broadcast coverage from Kansas airs Sunday, May 11 at 3 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.