While this week it was William Byron who came away with an unexpected NASCAR Cup victory, it was once again Chastain that dominated the conversation after the race, whether for better or worse.
Larson squeezed Chastain into the wall on a restart with 13 laps remaining in Sunday’s race as he tried to hold on to his lead. Then on the next restart, Chastain attempted a similar move to try and hold off Larson, but this time both cars ended up wrecking.
Byron, who was running third, inherited the lead – and held on in overtime for the win – while Chastain ended up in the garage and Larson limped home to a 20th-place finish.
Asked to describe the incident Chastain said, “Full commit. I got really tight and drove up and turned myself. I wanted to squeeze him and wanted to push him up.
“We had been trading back and forth all day and I wanted to push him up for sure, but I definitely did not want to turn myself into the wall. We had a shot, that’s all we can ask for.”
Larson declined interview requests following the race.
Larson’s team owner, Rick Hendrick, credited Chastain as a very talented driver but said he needed to tone down his aggression if he ever hoped to win a series championship.
“I think you can ask any driver in here that he’s wrecked or been involved with him. He doesn’t have to be that aggressive, and I guess at this point in the race maybe you’re super aggressive,
but you just don’t run people up in the fence. He’s going to make a lot of enemies. It’s hard to win a championship when you’ve got a lot of paybacks out there.
“With Kyle (Larson), this one and Dover and just Talladega, it’s really getting old with these guys.”