Ross Chastain's Hail Mary Attempt Falls Short
7 months agoAfter finishing the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season by winning the season finale at Phoenix, Ross Chastain came close to making it two wins in a row, as he was in position to win the Daytona 500 in its final stages. Despite rarely factoring in the first three-quarters of the race because he and the other Chevy drivers mostly focused on fuel-saving, Chastain took the lead on the final pit stop exchange and held it most of the way until the final restart. William Byron quickly took the lead for good on that restart, but Chastain made it interesting by initiating a pass coming to the white flag. However, Chastain's No. 1 Chevrolet spun when Corey LaJoie and Austin Cindric made contact behind him. There was little he could do to avoid crashing, but he deserves credit for going for it while driving somewhat cleaner than he has in the past.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference