(Photo: Josh Jones | The Podium Finish)
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Ross Chastain said that he made peace with Noah Gragson on Monday after a fight on pit road following the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Gragson showed displeasure toward Chastain after the Trackhouse Racing driver left him little room exiting a corner, resulting in Gragson hitting the wall. After the race ended, Gragson approached Chastain and put his hands on him. Chastain then swung at Gragson and landed a punch before security broke up the scuffle.
Chastain said that Gragson called him later that night but that he didn’t return the call until the next day.
“I was still in the garage and I didn’t feel like I had the bandwidth to think about it or talk about it,” Chastain said in a press conference Saturday. “I called him back Monday. I was heading up to Hickory to run a late-model stock … we talked for a little while and was in a really good place. And then we both went to Millbridge Monday night and with the Chevy program; we ran micros and had a blast. Just bonded over fast, little sprint cars. It was good – just laughing and joking, and we’ve been good at the gym all week.”
Chastain said that he stands by what happened at Kansas, though he’d rather not solve conflicts by fighting.
“It’s more just in the moment – living and reacting. But knowing this is big-time auto racing, this is not hockey,” Chastain said. “I standby last week what happened. I’m not saying that every time in a little bit different situation it’s going to react like that. I want to talk to guys and have conversations, but last week was too far.”
On the track, Chastain remains in a prime position. He leads in driver’s points for the third consecutive week with five top fives and six top 10s. Though he’s winless, consistency throughout the race and four stage victories have resulted in extra points to his total.
Chastain attributed a missed opportunity for more points at the end of Stage 2 last week. He pitted before a three-lap dash to the green checkered flag, and in hindsight, wishes he stayed out to potentially win the stage. A quick caution proceeded the restart and Joey Logano won the stage instead.
Ross Chastain will rock a Dale Jarrett throwback paint scheme on Sunday. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
“That would have been an – execute on the restart, win the stage and then reset only a couple spots back,” Chastain said. “Phil Surgen (crew chief) made the call to stay out and to do that. I saw how many people were pitting and I decided to pit. So those little things, I just look at it as I missed 10 points right there.
“It’s so crazy to think we’re leading the points. But then again, it’s not. We belong there and we belong to be parked at the front of the garage. I’ve been here for the spring Darlington race and parked second from last, so it’s pretty wild to walk down that same line.
“We’re not always, for the rest of time, we’re not going to be the Cup Series points leader, so some special times right now. If we keep running like this, I fully believe the wins will come.”
Chastain finished 30th at Darlington last spring and 20th in the fall. He, however, has three top 10s in the Xfinity Series.
Sunday’s Goodyear 400 is set for 3 p.m. ET on FS1. Joey Logano is the defending winner.
