KANSAS CITY, Kan. — NASCAR takeaways reveal that Ross Chastain secured his first victory of the season, a full month later than he had hoped. This win came as a surprise in the opening race of the NASCAR quarterfinal playoff round, where he played the role of spoiler.
Although Chastain did not qualify for the playoffs—only two winless drivers made the 16-driver championship-eligible field—he left a memorable mark on 2024 by winning the Cup race on Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
With just 21 laps remaining, the Trackhouse Racing driver took the lead during a restart, maintaining his position against William Byron to clinch his fifth career victory. The race saw Chastain and Kyle Busch exchanging the lead for approximately 20 laps until Busch spun out and collided with the wall with 32 laps to go.
This marked Chastain’s first win since the season finale in Phoenix last year. “We haven’t left,” he stated confidently. “Nobody has slowed us down other than ourselves, and today we were the fastest car.”
Byron finished in second place, maintaining his lead in NASCAR’s “Round of 12,” with upcoming races at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte road course. He was among the few playoff drivers who avoided major issues during the race.
Key takeaways from Kansas included the performance of two drivers who were eliminated from championship contention the previous week; Martin Truex Jr. finished third, and Ty Gibbs came in fifth, while playoff driver Ryan Blaney secured fourth place.
Kyle Busch’s Misfortune
Busch seemed poised to end a 50-race winless streak, pulling ahead of Chastain. However, he lost control while attempting to navigate between Chase Briscoe and the wall, trying to lap Briscoe.
“I wasn’t going to just pull over and give it to him—we’re still racing to stay on the lead lap,” Briscoe explained. “I felt like we left him a car width and a couple of inches. These cars are so sensitive.”
He added, “If you’re off of somebody’s right rear, you get so loose, and it looked like that is what happened. He throttled up to pin me so I couldn’t get in front of him. And as soon as he got there, it sucked him around.”
Busch reflected, “I tried to force my hand to get to his outside, and when I did, whatever happened just messed up the airflow, and I spun out.”
Denny Hamlin’s Frustration
Hamlin faced challenges with two slow pit stops, including a double pit due to a loose wheel, forcing him to work hard during the latter half of the race.
Finishing eighth, Hamlin described his day as “horrible.” “We should have won the race. We had the fastest car, but every time we got to the top three, a caution came out, and we restarted 15th-20th,” he lamented.
He noted, “You can’t show how fast your car is when you’re in the back of the pack. Eventually, you run out of laps, and somebody else wins.” Despite the setbacks, Hamlin remains 11 points above the current playoff cutoff.
“I’m not in it mentally, I can tell you that,” he admitted. “There are lots of wires crossed and bolts loose at the moment. But what can you do? I’ll just do the best I can to drive the car.”
Challenges for Playoff Drivers
Several playoff drivers faced their own difficulties at Kansas. Kyle Larson suffered a tire puncture early in the race, ultimately finishing in 26th place. Austin Cindric spun out and ended up in 34th.
Larson expressed, “I thought we would be OK after the repairs, but I just had no speed. Overall, I’m proud of our effort. We got everything somewhat repaired, but restarts were incredibly tough for me.”
Conversely, other drivers managed to overcome adversity. Chase Elliott, who blew an engine in practice, started at the back and finished ninth. Christopher Bell scraped the wall twice but secured a seventh-place finish. Ryan Blaney had to pit under green for a loose wheel, but a caution following Busch’s wreck allowed him to pit under caution for his final fuel stop and finish fourth.
Elliott remarked on the challenges of his pit stall, saying, “Our car was plenty solid enough, but we were just fighting an uphill battle all day. With the bad pit pick, it just kills you. Those are the little things that destroy you when you have a bad Saturday.”
Bell, who started on the pole for the third consecutive race at Kansas, is still in pursuit of his first victory at the track. “I just wish I had a couple corners back because I made mistakes that cost me track position,” he said. “To finish seventh after being mired in the back is good, but it definitely leaves me wondering what could’ve been.”
