Ross Chastain felt 'on either side of tight or loose all day' before P7 finish at the NASCAR Kansas race

Ross Chastain was among the Chevrolet drivers who made it to the top-ten grid after taking the 7th place finish at Kansas Speedway over the weekend. NASCAR just concluded their second race in the round of 16, where Team Toyota and Team Chevrolet dominated the top-ten positions.

The Number 1 Chevrolet driver was one of the most controversial drivers in the regular season. Before the playoffs, many thought Ross Chastain was among the drivers who would face a rough time in the Round of 16. However, from where he has sat in the playoff standings for the past two races, it seems he is one of the best performing drivers.

For Chastain, P5 is the perfect position to walk away with at the end of the race. Though he had high hopes of taking home the win, Bubba Wallace Jr. emerged as the winner of the race while Chastain settled in position seven.

He admitted that he never settled for a good run at Kansas despite finishing in the top ten. Speaking in a post-race interview, Ross Chastain stated that he was on either side of the tight or loose all day. He stated that,

“Our No. 1 AdventHealth Chevy was on either side of tight or loose all day. It was just really a fine line. We just never really settled into a nice run. Our best run was the second-to-last, with our second-to-best run being our last run. We put the chips where they needed to go at the very end, but all day it was just a handful.”

Before his arrival in Kansas, Chastain had a rough day at Darlington. He scored a 20th finish in the playoff starter race. The 29-year-old was well-prepared to bring home the victory after hitting Kansas over the weekend. He first secured an excellent starting position during the qualifying race, finishing 5th.

Ross Chastain to enter Bristol Motor Speedway in style for the Round of 16

Ross Chastain will join the Bristol Motor Speedway this coming weekend sitting 9th in the playoff standings with 2076 points, 32 points behind leader Christopher Bell. The Florida native is only one point behind reigning champion Kyle Larson and two points behind regular season champion Chase Elliot.

His teammate Daniel Suarez sits behind him in 10th place with a huge point margin of 20 points. The Round of 16 has only one race before NASCAR advances to Round of 12. Chastain and his teammates still have a clear shot at advancing to round 12 after Bristol this weekend.

Prior to the recently concluded Kansas race, Ross Chastain had a target of collecting 60 points, which would have placed him among the top three drivers in the standings. However, Chastain managed to pocket only 26 points. To advance to the next stage he’ll have to be more competitive at Bristol.