"Not at the expense of me" - Ross Chastain opens up on his competitive nature with race wins following Kansas

Ross Chastain recently won the NASCAR playoffs race at Kansas. Chastain, who failed to qualify for the playoffs this year, won his first race since the final race of the season at Phoenix in 2023.

And just as the case was with his win at Phoenix last year, his Kansas win also came as a spoiler. This is because he is not part of the playoffs this year and wasn't part of the final 4 last year.

Chastain was asked in a post-race press conference what winning a race in which he might've affected the other playoff drivers' plans and strategies meant for him. He said,

"Well, it’s tough because in the moment I’m looking in the rearview camera, and I see the #24 and #48. I see the #24 most notably. William Byron is a guy that I want to see win. I want to see him succeed. He is one of the few guys that I can say I’m buddies with, and we are kind of aligned in life.

"Although we come from different backgrounds, we kind of came to the central point, and we get along, more than I get along with most people. So, would I have loved to see the #24 drive into victory lane and lock himself into the round of 8? Sure. But not enough to pass the #1 car because I’m driving it" [13:00].

The #1 driver added he did everything he could to stay in front of the #24 of Byron. Chastain also said that he wants to see his Chevy teammates and people he works with on simulator sessions succeed.

Along with that, Chastain mentioned that he wants to see his teammate succeed, but only upto a point.

"I wish the #99 — I wish that Daniel was the one winning, but not at the expense of the #1 car and not at the expense of me," he added.

Chastain also said that at the end of the day, he wouldn't want to give up a win in favor of anyone or their chance of being locked into the next round.

He emphasized that if he has a chance to win, he is going to take that chance.

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William Byron looks back on hard-fought battle with Ross Chastain at Kansas

Despite having 3 wins to his name so far this season, Willam Byron hasn't seen the sight of victory lane since April. But at Kansas, the Hendrick Motorsports driver might have been visualizing himself celebrating his fourth win of the season, which would've booked his spot in the Round of 8.

However, he came up short by less than a second and couldn't pass the eventual race winner, Ross Chastain.

Speaking after the race, Byron looked back on the proceedings, mentioning that Ross Chastain got the restart he needed while he was in the second row trying to be clear of the other cars. But even when Byron was clear, he faced issues with his balance. And at the end, all of these factors led to him not being enough to pass the #1 car.

"I wanted that one really bad. It sucks man. You're so close and you know going to Talladega, you know what that is so just sucks."

It'll be interesting to see if William Byron manages to be a contender at Talladega next weekend. The #24 driver has already won at a superspeedway this year, at the Daytona 500.

But just as was the case at Kansas, a non-playoff driver like Chastain could once again play the spoiler given the nature of superspeedway racing.