Ross Chastain was penalized during Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway
On Sunday, Atlanta Motor Speedway dropped the green flag for the NASCAR Cup Series. It was the first superspeedway event on a 1.5-mile track.
Ross Chastain drove to the front of the field early. While leading, he blew a right rear tire and slammed the outside wall.
Chastain pitted with heavy damage and the crew went to work on the machine. His issues were compounded as the team was handed a penalty for a pit road infraction.
Chastain was held on the pit lane for 2 laps. However, by the end of the day, Chastain raced his way back to the lead lap.
And on the final lap, Chastain was going for the race win. He crossed the line in 3rd. Yet, he was passed by Christopher Bell under the double line. As Bell was penalized, Chastain was credited with 2nd place.
Related: Atlanta Motor Speedway – New vs Old track by passing data
Ross Chastain details Atlanta Motor Speedway
“That’s the fight in Trackhouse,” Ross Chastain stated after the race.
“This Gen 7 car to take a lick like that, blow a tire out of nowhere leading. Just cruising, blow a right rear, slam the wall, I thought our day was over.”
“Our guys went underneath the car, got the tow closer and we got the balance back where I could drive it and this Advent Health Chevy was fast. It was so fast. I mean we were fighting with William (Byron) there at the beginning.”
Chastain added, “So cool to race with buddies again. I only have a few, but the last two weeks I’ve been able to race with buddies.”
Related: Atlanta TV Ratings
Scott Miller explains the penalty to Ross Chastain
“He overcame a lot to finish 2nd,” NASCAR VP of Competition Scott Miller stated.
“What the penalty is, is we have a rule in place and it’s purely safety. As teams and competitors do, they try to take advantage of everything, right. Which is competition and it’s great.”
“But, through the years, we saw the fuel man doing more and more multitasking with wedge wrenches while fueling, kicking tires and pushing tires. It really just, in our opinion, was not the right thing to do.”
“We felt like the fuel man should have the sole purpose of being the fueler, only. From a safety perspective. So, he focusing entirely on that job.”
“This what just a matter of the fuel man did more than fuel the car and it’s a straight forward rule. You can’t do anything else. I’m not exactly sure. I think he picked up some tools or did something, I’m not 100% sure exactly what the infraction was.”
“But honestly, it doesn’t matter what he does. If he does something other than fuel the car, it’s an infraction.”
Related: Atlanta Race Results – March 20, 2022 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Links
Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Atlanta Motor Speedway | NASCAR
