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The Verizon 200, which was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), ended in a thrilling overtime finish where Ross Chastain and Austin Dillion missed Turn 1 on the final restart of the race and used the access road to avoid incidents happening in front of them.
After using the shortcut, Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain jumped to the front field, battling for the lead with Tyler Reddick. In the end, Reddick reclaimed the lead and reached Victory Lane for the second time this season, while Chastain finished just behind him in P2.
However, Chastain’s P2 finish was short-lived as NASCAR handed him a 30-second penalty after the race for short-cutting the IMS Road Course.
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Chastain dropped from P2 to P27 and Austin Cindric, who initially finished third, moved to the runner-up spot, earning his best of the season since winning the Daytona 500.
Meanwhile, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Austin Dillon, who also used the access road shortcut, faced a similar 30-second penalty and finished the race in P30.
After penalizing Chastain, rookie drivers Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland scored their career-best finishes on Sunday as Burton finished P3 and Gilliland in P4. It was the first time three rookies (Cindric, Burton, and Gilliland) finished in the top five since 1994 at Pocono Raceway.
Ross Chastain reveals why he took the access road at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Speaking to the media, Ross Chastain stated that he was trying not to be bunched up with all the chaos in the first corner. He thought that he was in a four-wide battle with nowhere left on the right side to go, which made him take the access road to get out of all the traffic in Turn 1.
Chastain said:
“Just trying not to be in the chaos there in Turn 1. I thought we were four-wide, and couldn’t go any farther right, and decided to take the NASCAR access lane out there.”
He continued:
“Just pure reaction there, for our Worldwide Express Chevy. I took it in practice on exit, overshooting Turn 1. … Yeah, just wanted to not get hit, and merged back on where I merged.”
Catch Ross Chastain at the Michigan International Speedway next Sunday, August 7, 2022.
