Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Nascar Camaro, was subject to retaliation on-track after his involvement in a handful of incidents at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 5th, 2022. Chastain owned up to his aggressive racing after the event, saying that he should not be allowed to drive the No. 1 Chevy if he continues to race in that manner.
Chastain, who has won twice this year, at COTA and Talladega, got into a spat with the driver of the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry, Denny Hamlin, in the first stage of the 240-lap race in Illinois. Chastain struggled to pass Hamlin, which culminated in the No. 1 Camaro striking the No. 11 Camry’s rear bumper and sending Hamlin into the wall.
Hamlin slowed his No. 11 Camry on the track after the caution came out, waiting for Chastain’s No. 1 Nascar Camaro to circle back around. Hamlin chased Chastain to the apron, but did not make contact. A few laps later, Hamlin tried again, putting his damaged No. 11 Camry right in the path of Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro, slowing Chastain, but again avoiding contact.
Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro ended up mired in the pack, racing the No. 9 Chevy of Chase Elliott and the No. 3 Chevy of Austin Dillon three-wide. Chastain contacted Elliott, sending the four-time Most Popular Driver spinning off Turn 4. Elliott retaliated by ramming his No. 9 Camaro into the back of Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro when the caution came out. Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry also found Chastain again under the yellow, rubbing him on the way by before continuing to block him on the restart. Chastain eventually eked his No. 1 Camaro past.
Ross Chastain: “It’s just terrible driving on my part. I should not be in this car if I’m going to do that.” pic.twitter.com/WgwHdjxQZ0
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 5, 2022
“At this level, I’m supposed to be better than that. It’s a shame, I have all these people believing in me. Justin Marks and Pitbull put me in this car. They deserve better,” Chastain said after the race. “I owe half the field an apology. Words aren’t going to fix it. So, I’ll have to pay for it on the track and almost did today. I deserve everything that they do… Terrible driving on my part. Like, I should not be in this car if I’m going to do that.”
All said and done, Chastain finished 8th, while Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford Mustang claimed victory.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 245 | 22 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Snickers Toyota | 245 | 66 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 11 | 45 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Toyota | 245 | 12 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Dent Wizard Ford | 245 | 12 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Built Ford Proud Ford | 245 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 13 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Reser's Fine Foods Toyota | 245 | 42 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 7 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet | 245 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota | 245 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 35 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Gold Fish Casino Slots Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric # | Menards/Atlas Ford | 245 | 26 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 15 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Valvoline Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 25 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 28 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 29 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | 3CHI Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 32 | 17 | Zane Smith(i) | Acronis Ford | 245 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 17 | 34 | Michael McDowell | WISE-EV Ford | 245 | 34 | Ford Mustang |
| 19 | 24 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 30 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Solomon Plumbing Ford | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hooters Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 22 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | First Phase Ford | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 23 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsie's Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 1 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | 245 | 27 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 9 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Ford/DAV Ford | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 18 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 245 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 27 | 26 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet Military Appreciation Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 33 | 77 | Josh Bilicki(i) | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 29 | 14 | 41 | Cole Custer | Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford | 245 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 34 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Blaster Ford | 245 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 36 | 15 | Parker Kligerman(i) | Scott Credit Union Ford | 245 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 32 | 27 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | SunnyD Chevrolet | 241 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 20 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | #BuschLightPolite Ford | 235 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight Toyota | 234 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 35 | 31 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 166 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 19 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Built.com Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
#- Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
That F@g Hamlin kept blocking Chastain for 20 laps or better . There was no need for that so early in the race. Earnhardt would have put Hamlin in the wall so hard it would knock traitor Gibbs off the pit box and would have beat Hamlins @ss after the race. Nascar is like Bruce Jenner it went from an all American man to a woman. No Confederate flags but gay pride and blm is great !
I agree with you James ,These cry baby’s would not make it with Dale Sr. during his time , If they start to block him ,Like Hamlin was doing Chastain , Their car would be out of the race, all torn up !
there was driver named ernie ervin when he started in cup if there was a wreck he was there ended one of the best in cup if you want to b*tch what about the 22 taking out the 24 what happened to go out it boys he did what he gets paid for and im not a big fan of the 1 car just my opinion
Its about time we had some real driving. Takes me back to the Dale Sr. Days
Agree
Anyone who puts a Toyota into the wall is fine with me.
Drop a watermelon on his (Chastain’s) head! I’m old and remember the 60’s when it was Stock car racing. Saw better racing from teams composed of 3 or 4 full time employees and drivers with the attitude I want to lead every lap (Roberts, Weatherly, Johnson, Turner, Isacc, Cale, Pearson , Allison and Lee Roy). It was go or Blow. None of this stage and gas mileage crap It has evolved into media Entertaiment.
Burton Smith, Toyota, M Waltrip, D Jarrett, Multiple 1 1/2 mile tracks leaving the fan base at smaller tracks have helped with the lack of interest in today’s racing. Dale’s death and Retirement Of Good drivers replaced with pretty boys haven’t helped either.