Talladega Superspeedway is always a wildcard in the Playoffs, and now, several NASCAR Chevy drivers find themselves in danger of being eliminated after disappointing runs on October 1st, 2023.
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, found himself on the wrong end of an on-track incident, and was the first Playoff driver to get into trouble at the massive superspeedway. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 Camaro, which had run out of fuel and was slowing down on track, made contact with Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Camaro. Busch dove low to avoid being swept into the wreck, but clipped Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro, sending the latter into the wall. The race car was deemed unrepairable, and he was ultimately credited with a 37th-place finish.
“It’s just the way it goes, nothing personal with it, I don’t take any of this personally here,” said Chastain. “Could have stayed bottom a few laps earlier probably, just had a couple cars laying in my lap and I went for the gap. Will study it and be better next time.”
However, he’s optimistic about his shot at the Charlotte Roval next weekend.
Lefts and rights and living my dream,” Chastain added. “So whatever our team brings next week we’ll put our best foot forward as long as I’m getting to drive these rocket ships that Trackhouse [Racing] brings me, I’m living my dream and we’ll keep fighting.”
Currently, Chastain is tied with Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota TRD Camry, in points, and will have some ground to make up to avoid elimination. Meanwhile, Busch, who finished 25th, is in a must-win situation, as he is far below the cutoff line and in danger of not being able to continue in the 2023 championship.
Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford Mustang won at Talladega, beating Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Mustang across the line by a nose. However, Harvick was disqualified in postrace inspection, handing the runner-up finish to William Byron’s No. 24 Camaro.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Pennzoil Ford | 188 | 8 | Ford Mustang |
| 2 | 8 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Axalta Chevrolet | 188 | 12 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota | 188 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 36 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 7 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Discount Tire Ford | 188 | 15 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 30 | 31 | Justin Haley | Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | LLumar Chevrolet | 188 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 19 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Wonder Bread Ford | 188 | 8 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 6 | 36 | * Riley Herbst(i) | Beast Unleashed White Haze Ford | 188 | 10 | Ford Mustang |
| 10 | 28 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 34 | 13 | * Chandler Smith(i) | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 17 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Georgia Peanuts Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 13 | 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Old Spice Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 15 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | DEWALT Electrical Solutions Toyota | 188 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 15 | 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | Valvoline/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 13 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | McDonald's Toyota | 188 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 17 | 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 188 | 7 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 16 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 188 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 19 | 24 | 17 | Chris Buescher (P) | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 188 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 31 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 188 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 35 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Bread Chevrolet | 188 | 14 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (P) | Leidos Toyota | 188 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 24 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 188 | 48 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 25 | 8 | Kyle Busch (P) | X World Wallet Chevrolet | 188 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 188 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 188 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 20 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 188 | 13 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 37 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Gunk Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 29 | 15 | Brennan Poole(i) | Finance Pro Plus Ford | 186 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 21 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 175 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski (P) | Solomon Plumbing Ford | 161 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 161 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 22 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 161 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 35 | 38 | 42 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 161 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 27 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 83 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 32 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 59 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 38 | 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Camo Ford | 188 | 11 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy news, NASCAR news, GM motorsports news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
No Comments yet