DARLINGTON, S.C. — Ross Chastain thought things went too far last Sunday when he punched fellow NASCAR driver Noah Gragson in the pits at Kansas Speedway.
Still, the season points leader admitted he feels more comfortable in his growing role as the Cup Series’ current bad boy.
Gragson, who drives for Legacy Motor Club, confronted Chastain, of Trackhouse Racing, after an incident late in the race — and took a punch before others broke it up.
Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, a NASCAR villain in his own right over the years, offered this take: “I feel security stepped in about 10 seconds too quick.”
It may not take much for drivers’ blood pressure to rise in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. The track “Too Tough To Tame” has traditionally gotten drivers sideways both during the race and after the checkered flag waves.
Chastain would prefer to use words to settle disagreements with rivals, but he stood by his actions at Kansas.
“I’m not saying that every time in a little bit different situation, (I’m) going to react like that,” he said. “I want to talk to guys and have conversations, but last week was too far.”
Chastain will start fifth Sunday. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., whose 32 Cup Series wins include two at Darlington, qualified Saturday for the pole position and will be joined on the front row by fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing.
The next five spots went to Chevrolet drivers — Ricky Stenhouse Jr., William Byron, Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson — followed by Denny Hamlin in eighth and Tyler Reddick in ninth, both in Toyotas. Brad Keselowski is the lone Ford driver who qualified in the top 10.
Larson is listed as the 5-1 favorite by Fanduel Sportsbook to win Sunday. The 2021 Cup Series champion has never won a race on the top circuit at Darlington, but he did win Saturday’s second-tier Xfinity Series race at the track.
As for Chastain, he cleared the air with Gragson on Monday and believes the scuffle is finished, yet Chastain remains the focal point for driver and fan anger regarding his aggressive style.
Hamlin was fined and lost points after acknowledging he intentionally hit Chastain at Phoenix Raceway two months ago. Chastain has also had disagreements with Ryan Blaney, the ever-popular Chase Elliott, and even calmer, less confrontational figures such as Aric Almirola and Truex.
Elliott was caught on camera when he passed Gragson in the pits at Kansas and told him, “Somebody’s got to do it,” referring to payback to Chastain.
Busch has advised Chastain in the past, telling him, “Don’t be the headline every week.”
Those words didn’t take hold, as far as Busch is concerned: “He hasn’t learned, he hasn’t listened to anybody. I don’t know the guy. I don’t need to know the guy.”
This is Darlington’s annual throwback weekend, and this year it’s a celebration of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary and its 75 greatest drivers, 33 of whom were expected to be at the track. That means there are plenty of guys qualified to offer an opinion on the current state of affairs.
NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett sees Chastain as a convenient scapegoat in the garage these days.
“I’ve seen nothing from Ross that he is a dirty race driver whatsoever,” said Jarrett, who will be honored by Chastain’s car with a throwback, brown-and-white UPS paint scheme.
Jarrett said that Chastain “getting blamed for everything that goes on on the damn race track is getting old, in my opinion. Guys on the opposite side of the track are saying it’s Ross’ fault.”
Chastain hasn’t let his rising profile as NASCAR’s chief villain throw him off course. He was entered in all three NASCAR national series race this weekend and said the reaction at his Truck Series race introduction Friday night was about “70-30” in his favor.
“On the track, I am comfortable making these guys uncomfortable, and that’s not always going to come across well,” Chastain said.
And out of the car?
“I’m learning to be comfortable in this role,” he said. “I’m not the guy who grew up wanting to be on camera.”
Chastain thought he’d follow in the family business as a Florida watermelon farmer and live a life far away from the NASCAR spotlight.
“It’s something I’m growing into off the track,” he said. “Being myself in the best thing I can do, and if people like it, they do.”