DARLINGTON, S.C. — Ross Chastain had been driving the point home for much of the weekend. Making the most of the opportunity, he said often, taking his first Xfinity Series start in Chip Ganassi Racing equipment.
That opportunity for the perennial overachiever had all the prelude, but lacked the fairy-tale finish. Instead, Chastain’s Saturday drive at Darlington Raceway ended with drama and a nod to old-school rivalries.
Chastain won the pole position and both stages of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 — both career firsts. But his heated tangle with Kevin Harvick in a side-by-side contest for the lead changed the complexion of the race, leaving the 25-year-old underdog with a 25th-place finish.
“I’m going to try not to be too negative on myself. I get that rap a lot,” Chastain said. “This opportunity, man, it’s like once in a lifetime. … It’s been incredible the last two weeks to get up to speed with CGR and to try to use all the pieces to their puzzle to go fast in a race car.”
Chastain led a race-high 90 laps, fending off challenges from both Harvick and eventual race-winner Brad Keselowski through the middle portions of the 147-lap event. But Lap 110 was the turning point.
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Harvick’s No. 98 Ford dove to the inside of Chastain’s car as the two navigated lapped traffic. With racing room scarce, the two slid up the track and Harvick’s car squeezed Chastain’s hard into the outside retaining wall at the exit of Turn 2.
The two cars initially righted themselves on the backstretch until Chastain’s car hooked Harvick into a spin. Harvick took the act as intentional, blaring his displeasure over the team radio and briefly parking in Chastain’s pit stall. He later cast aspersions on Chastain’s opportunity and the possibility of more chances in the future.
“I tried to stay as low as I could and he just rode on my door,” Harvick said, his day complete in 29th place. “That’s just a really inexperienced racer and a really bad move there and got the air and got on beside me and just kept going up the race track. I couldn’t do anything with the wheel. So, you’ve got a really inexperienced guy in a really fast car and made a really bad move, and then wrecked me down the back straightaway and hooked me to the right. That’s probably the reason that he’ll never get to drive many of them again.”
Briefed on Harvick’s remarks, Chastain was reluctant to chime in. “Nothing I say is going to help,” he said. But Chastain did defend the secondary contact with Harvick’s car, saying their collision was not on purpose.
“I was out of control, man,” Chastain said. “After we hit the wall, I lost the wheel.”
Chastain pressed on, making a pair of additional pit stops to repair damage. He finished two laps off the pace and later marveled at the car’s durability in withstanding the full effect of the late-race damage.
Though the outcome wasn’t the one he was chasing, it fulfilled at least part of the reward. Chastain was named Aug. 23 to drive Ganassi’s No. 42 Chevrolet for three races in the remainder of the season, a step up the speed chart from his usual JD Motorsports ride and a promotion for a driver known for squeezing the most performance from his equipment.
Chastain said he had a perpetual smile on his face while leading more laps than in his previous 129 Xfinity Series starts combined. He’ll have at least two more opportunities coming up later this month — at Las Vegas and Richmond — to convert the storybook ending.
“This was a win for every short-track racer running Fast Trucks, Pro Trucks, Late Models across the country that you can just race as long as you can stay in the car and progress up the ranks,” Chastain said. “However fast or slow it’s going to be or whatever your situation is, it’s just a testament. As long as you just keep racing, however you can, it’ll pay off.”