Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Nascar Camaro led exactly one lap on his way to Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday: the last lap.
The No. 43 Next Gen Camaro ZL1 of Erik Jones held down the front of the field as the white flag approached, throwing blocks on the No. 5 Camaro of reigning Nascar Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro sat precariously in third place. On the last lap, Larson’s No. 5 Camaro shot up the racetrack in an attempt to use the high line to his advantage and make the pass for the lead.
However, Larson contacted the No. 45 Toyota TRD Camry driven by Kurt Busch, sending Busch into the wall, and the No. 43 machine of Jones snapped loose. Busch’s No. 45 Camry hooked the No. 23 Camry driven by Bubba Wallace, and the teammates wrecked across the line. Meanwhile, Chastain threw his No. 1 Camaro low and quietly assumed the lead on the front stretch while the field jostled behind him, securing his second win of the 2022 season.
“Holy cow, we didn’t do anything,” Chastain commented the radio after he crossed the finish line. “We just stayed down there.”
After the race, Chastain explained his last-lap strategy. “I’m always the one going to the top too early and making the mistake and there at the end, with like eight to go I was like, ‘I’m not going up there again, I did that a couple times today,'” he said. “I was like, I’ll just drive the bottom, I’m not going to lose the race for us. They just kept going up and moving out of the way.”
Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevy finished second behind Chastain, while Bristol dirt winner Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Camry crossed the line in third. Larson finished fourth in the No. 5 Camaro, and Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Camry rounded out the top five. In total, 16 different drivers vied for the lead, with 41 lead changes.
Interestingly, Chastain’s Talladega-winning No. 1 Camaro was the same race car he drove to victory at COTA earlier this year.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 188 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 188 | 32 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 188 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 16 | 43 | Erik Jones | U.S. Air Force Chevrolet | 188 | 25 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 28 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 21 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 27 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | GEARWRENCH Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 22 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Wurth Ford | 188 | 23 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 11 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield/IHOP Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 33 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Raze Energy Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 8 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 188 | 38 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 6 | 45 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Toyota | 188 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 188 | 15 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 18 | 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx All in for Small Business Toyota | 188 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 19 | 39 | 77 | Landon Cassill(i) | Fox Nation Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 31 | 62 | * Noah Gragson(i) | Wendy’s $5 Biggie Bag/Beard Oil Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 18 | 2 | Austin Cindric # | Menards/Sylvania Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | 187 | 7 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 15 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Carbon Neutral Ford | 187 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 36 | 15 | David Ragan | Envision Ford | 186 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 38 | 55 | * JJ Yeley(i) | Hex.com Ford | 185 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 37 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Motorsport Games Ford | 172 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 32 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | First Phase Credit Card Ford | 121 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 105 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 29 | 41 | Cole Custer | Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford | 98 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 26 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/SunnyD Chevrolet | 95 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 4 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 92 | 28 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 13 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford | 89 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 20 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet | 89 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 25 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 89 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 35 | 44 | * Greg Biffle | Morehouse College Chevrolet | 79 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 3 | 16 | Daniel Hemric(i) | Majestic Steel Chevrolet | 56 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 37 | 17 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 56 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 38 | 30 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 56 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 39 | 10 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | BetMGM Chevrolet | 31 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
Great article! Good and lively descriptions!
GREAT WIN AGAIN FOR CHEVY.. Maybe Ford and Toyota should go home and give up racing.
This would be interesting IF the cars were mostly stock parts. GM engine or at least the block.
We don’t get the mfg competition anymore so we don’t get any benefits.
NASCAR isn’t a mfg competition anymore.
There is no more win on Sunday buy on Monday.
Get back to the days when a manufacturer had to build a great car to make a sale.
All these cars are now basically the same car with different stickers.
The driver and pit crew win the race the car has little to do with it.
NASCAR bring back a competition that shows how good the manufacturer product is…..
You have lost your heritage..