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Ross Chastain is, slowly but surely, becoming one of the drivers to watch this season. Last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, Chastain added another excellent performance to his record, taking a third-place finish after already collecting the checkered flag the previous weekend in Talladega.
However, third place didn’t come without controversy, as some believe he went too hard on Joe Gibbs' Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. and left him spinning on the final lap. Since the start of the season, Ross Chastain has been one of the most aggressive drivers when it comes to final laps, an approach that has earned him many points.
Following a difficult finish, Chastain reflected back on his aggressiveness towards Martin Truex Jr. during the third stage, and he admitted that it wasn’t right to race him the way he did. However, for him, the final lap block was the best move.
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While speaking about the race in a media interview, Ross said:
“I’d say the mistake was 30 laps before (the finish), not just letting him go and hoping he got by Ricky (Stenhouse Jr., running second) and then I could get by Ricky, too”
The No.1 was also asked about the final block that left Truex Jr. spinning and in his response, he said:
“The last lap is the last lap, I’m going to race him as hard as I possibly can.”
Ross Chastain is in the top three at Dover Motor Speedway after blocking Martin Truex Jr.
During the race, Chastain sat in third position for the better part of the final stage, while Truex Jr. was right behind him, looking for a window to sit in the top three instead. After a long run, everything changed on the final lap when Truex Jr. decided to take Chastain's position from the outer line.
For Ross Chastain, every point counts, and he was not about to let anyone prevent him from finishing in the top five again. Chastain ended up blocking Truex Jr., which led to his car spinning.
Truex Jr. confronted Chastain after the race and Chastain took full blame for what had happened to Truex Jr.
The week before heading to Dover, Chastain had grabbed a win at Talladega and was fighting hard to secure a third win of the season. Chastain has not received the necessary attention from fans or makers in previous races, however, his record shows that he has been putting in fantastic performances.
After finishing third last weekend, he now has seven top-ten finishes this season out of 11 races. He is one of the two drivers to have secured two wins this season.
