Ross Chastain Wins First Career Cup Race at COTA

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AUSTIN, TX – RIS – Ross Chastain finally won a race on the road course at the Circuit of the Americas in hard-fought battle between A.J. Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, and of course, the eventual winner, Chastain. 

Chastain entered the final lap of the race leading AJ Allmendinger by about three-quarters of a second. The margin seemed comfortable until Allmendinger made up most of the time on the back straightaway on the Circuit of the Americas' 20-turn course. That set the two up for a duel to the finish, with Alex Bowman also joining the fray.

Chastain led 31 of the 68 laps but had to fight back from second when this chaos broke out on the track with four laps to go. As Joey Logano and others got caught in the wreckage, Tyler Reddick passed Chastain for the lead, setting up the memorable finish.

The three cars bumped and banged one another off track in the final turns of the race. In the end, Allmendinger spun out, knocked Bowman off course and Chastain rode to victory.

"It's never tasted sweeter," Chastain said of the victory melon in a post-race interview.

Chastain, who had finished in the top three in each of the last three races, gave Trackhouse Racing its first career victory in an overtime finish that featured plenty of beating and banging.

“Oh my God Justin, we did it,” Chastain screamed to car owner Justin Marks on the team’s radio after taking the checkered flag. I know he’s going to be upset with me,” Chastain told Fox Sports, referring to Allmendinger. “We race hard, both of us and. He owes me one. When it comes to a Cup win, I can’t let that go down without a fight.”

Bowman finished second and was followed by Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick. Ryan Blaney was sixth and followed by Martin Truex Jr., Austin Cindric, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon.

Early on, Daniel Suarez won the first stage and Denny Hamlin won the second.  Neither driver was in the hunt for a win at the end. After winning the first stage, Suarez spun in Turn 1 on the restart and suffered a flat left rear tire. He never regained track position and finished 24th. Hamlin finished in 18th place.

Bubba Wallace who looked racy at the beginning, finished 38th after a wheel came off his car. That likely will lead to a four-race suspension for his crew chief and two pit crew members. The penalty should be announced early this week.

Next for the NASCAR Cup drivers is a visit to Richmond Raceway in Virginia on April 2nd at 1:30 PM.  TV will be Fox and radio MRN.

Unofficial Results: 2nd Annual EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, March 27, 2022, Circuit of The Americas, 3.41 - Mile Paved

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 16, Ross Chastain, No. 1 ONX Homes/iFly Chevrolet, 69, , 4, 31, 5, 8, 43, Running
2) 5, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 69, 3, , , , , 43, Running
3) 7, Christopher Bell, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 69, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 12, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Llumar Chevrolet, 69, 7, , , , , 37, Running
5) 4, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 69, , 1, 2, , , 32, Running
6) 1, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, 69, 2, 1, 1, , 4, 47, Running
7) 17, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 69, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 10, Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 69, 10, 1, 11, , 9, 32, Running
9) 30, Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 69, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 21, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bennett Chevrolet, 69, , , , , 6, 32, Running
11) 18, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford, 69, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 24, William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet, 69, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 27, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 69, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 26, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford, 69, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 9, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 69, 6, , , , , 27, Running
16) 29, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 Boot Barn Ford, 69, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 19, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Freightliner Ford, 69, 9, , , , 7, 26, Running
18) 8, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 69, , 1, 3, 1, 1, 29, Running
19) 25, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Rush/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford, 69, , , , , 5, 24, Running
20) 33, Ty Dillon, No. 42 chevyliners.com Chevrolet, 69, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 22, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, 69, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 34, Josh Bilicki(i), No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 69, , , , , , 0, Running
23) 3, Cole Custer, No. 41 One Cure Ford, 69, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 2, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 69, 1, 1, 15, 1, , 23, Running
25) 31, * Kaz Grala(i), No. 50 Pit Viper Sunglasses Chevrolet, 69, , , , , , 0, Running
26) 37, * Boris Said, No. 66 Bumper.com Ford, 69, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 35, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 69, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 15, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Lime is Back Toyota, 69, , , , , 2, 18, Running
29) 13, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 69, 5, , , , , 14, Running
30) 14, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 69, 8, 1, 2, , , 10, Running
31) 6, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 69, 4, 1, 2, , 3, 21, Running
32) 11, Kurt Busch, No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota, 69, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 20, AJ Allmendinger(i), No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 68, , 2, 2, , , 0, Running
34) 36, * Loris Hezemans(i), No. 27 Hezeberg Systems Ford, 62, , , , , , 0, Rear Gear
35) 38, Joey Hand, No. 15 Ford Pass Rewards Visa Ford, 60, , , , , , 2, Suspension
36) 32, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet, 57, , , , , , 1, Engine
37) 28, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet, 52, , , , , , 1, Drivetrain
38) 23, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 leidos Toyota, 44, , , , , 10, 2, Suspension
39) 39, Andy Lally(i), No. 78 MaintenanceSupplies.com Ford, 19, , , , , , 0, Suspension
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 69 Laps, 235.29 Miles
Time: 3 Hrs, 20 Mins, 57 Secs.
Average Speed: 70.253 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.331 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 99, 12, 48, 22, 5, 31, 9, 14, 21, 2

Stage 2 Top 10: 11, 18, 22, 12, 10, 3, 21, 1, 2, 23

Comments: Ross Chastain has won the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas, his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 27, 15, 16, 34, 43, 66, 77 (Unapproved adjustments), No. 78 (Three inspection failures).

Cautions: 9 for 13 laps;
Laps: 17-17 (Conclusion of Stage 1 [None]);
32-32 (Conclusion of Stage 2 [None]);
35-36 (Debris on track in Turn 11 [None]);
42-43 (No. 43 stopped on the back stretch [20]);
46-46 (Debris on track in Turn 16 [43]);
55-56 (No. 47 stuck on the backstretch [None]);
59-59 (Possible fluid on the front stretch  [None]);
64-65 (No. 27 stopped in Turn 3 [None]);
67-67 (Accident involving the No. 22, No. 45 and No. 5 in Turn 1 [None]).

Lead Changes: 13 among 9 drivers;
D. Suarez 1-15;
R. Blaney 16;
A. Cindric # 17-27;
D. Hamlin 28-30;
J. Logano 31-32;
R. Chastain 33-41;
A. Allmendinger(i) 42;
R. Chastain 43-44;
C. Briscoe 45-46;
R. Chastain 47-64;
A. Allmendinger(i) 65;
T. Reddick 66-67;
R. Chastain 68-69.

Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Austin Cindric, No. 2