Ross Chastain confident in Darlington victory potential as he battles for a playoff spot

NASCAR driver Ross Chastain has expressed his confidence about securing a playoff spot as the regular season comes to an end. Chastain is currently in contention for the three remaining playoff spots.

Ross Chastain pilots the #1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing Team, competing full-time in the Cup Series. He made his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series, piloting the #66 entry at Indianapolis. Chastain has 11 race wins to his credit across all of NASCAR's divisions, with four of them coming in the Cup Series.

The Martinsville Miracle driver has had a decent run this season and is battling four other drivers for the remaining three playoff spots, surprisingly including two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.

In a recent press conference, Ross Chastain opened up on whether he thinks he will make the playoffs this year, as the Cup Series heads to Darlington for the regular season finale. Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass shared his comments on X (formerly Twitter):

"I just know the best way that we can ensure it is to win. So we've had opportunities to win the Southern 500. We've had opportunities to win a couple of races spring and fall here, and in different series. So that's my goal. The math says we can do it either way, but my preparation and my mentality has been this way since in Cup, since the very first spring race I came here in 2021. I left here that weekend and thought we can win a cup race at Darlington one day. And that thought hasn't left my mind since," Chastain said.

As things currently stand, Ross Chastain is P14 in the drivers' standings with 631 points, six behind 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace, who will also be looking to drive down victory lane at Darlington to confirm his place in the playoffs.

---

Kevin Harvick sheds light on Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace's playoff chances

NASCAR veteran and former Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick recently expressed his views on the playoff battle ahead of the final Cup race at Darlington. The five drivers majorly in contention for the three remaining playoff spots are Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher.

In the latest episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, the former driver shared his views on the situation of the playoffs, as Harrison Burton's win at Daytona threw a spanner in the works for the possible contenders.

“It’s interesting that we’re here, with the #23 and the #1. Those guys are on the outside looking in. To me, they’re in a must-win situation. They’re way behind Chris Buescher. The only way that Chris Buescher stumbles is if they have a catastrophic issue, moment or issue," Harvick said.

“[Martin] Truex is in, Ty Gibbs is basically going to just need a day where he doesn’t have anything tear up. And so to me, those guys are in a must-win situation” [at 30:42].