Chastain still doesn’t feel that the punishment at Iowa fit the crime
Ross Chastain cruised to the win at Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR Truck Series event. After the race, the win was taken away after the truck failed to meet static ride heights on the front of the truck.
The team appealed the violation but the penalty remained. It marked the first time since the 1960’s that NASCAR removed a race win.
This week, Niece Motorsports unloaded in the garage with two win stickers, regardless of one win not counting in the record books. And they were coming for a third.
Ross Chastain then drove it to victory lane at Gateway Motorsports Park. The low-rider then passed post-race inspection and it’s officially his first win since declaring points in the truck series.
Ross Chastain on the win at Iowa being taken away
“We were all mad. It just didn’t feel right last week,” Ross Chastain said after winning for the second week in a row at Gateway.
“We know we broke a rule. But, it was just the punishment didn’t fit the crime. But, NASCAR sent a new precedent. And they did not waver one little bit.”
“We just felt wronged by a lot of the processes and the people involved on both sides between competition and upper management. I’m being honest about that, we were mad!”
Chastain only recently declared that he’s running for points in the NGOTS. That’s a change from the season’s beginning.
Now, Chastain is playing catch up in the points despite having won two races and another that didn’t count. He’ll be able to qualify for the playoffs. But, he’ll need to crack the top 20 in points to do it. Once he does, the win at Gateway will lock him into the playoffs.
The Watermelon Man
Chastain comes from a family of watermelon farmers. His NASCAR Truck Series debut came in 2011. He’s run 51 MENCS races, 152 NXS races and 70 NGOTS races.
For most of those, Chastain brought a watermelon with him. The sole purpose was to crack it in victory lane.
“I carried one around for almost seven years and never did anything. I hate to eat a lot of them in sorrow and disappointment after the races.”
“I carried them around for years. And would put them in the coolers of the pit box even when I knew we were going to go run 30th in a Cup race.”
“What’s crazy is I was a start and park here last year. I wanted to get laps. But, it helped.”
“We brought in Phil, Cody and Lonny. It’s like a bunch of misfits. We are, we all kinda got pushed out of other places.”
More
Ross Chastain says the ride height is an ‘old rule’
NASCAR overturns race win due to failed inspection
Links
Ross Chastain | Iowa Speedway | Gateway Motorsports Park | NASCAR
