Ross Chastain’s decision to put himself into the wall at Martinsville Speedway and push the accelerator to the floor in hopes of sneaking into the Championship Four is a move that will be talked about forever in NASCAR lore.
Chastain was able to pick up enough spots to sneak into fourth place and join Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott for the championship race.
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Daniel Suarez looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Xfinity 500 on Oct. 29, 2022 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.
(Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Daniel Suárez, who finished in 12th place at the Xfinity 500, was on “NASCAR Race Hub” on Monday and said Chastain’s move was on of the “craziest things” he has seen in racing. Both Suárez and Chastian both race for Trackhouse Racing.
“It’s definitely one of the craziest things because, for me, in reality the crazy is not to do it, it’s to think about it,” Suárez explained. “That for me is the crazy part. In my opinion, it takes two things – to be able to do it but to think about it. To think about that as an option, you have to be a little wild.
Ross Chastain watches cars during practice for the NASCAR auto race at Martinsville Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Martinsville, Virginia.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
“To do it, once you’re in the wall, you put it close to the wall, it doesn’t require talent, you just have to be a little crazy to do it. But to think about that as an option, that’s where I give a lot of credit to Ross because at that particular moment that was his only option. The only option he had was to do something crazy. Some people call it maybe something dumb, but it worked out.”
Chastain now gets to compete for a championship at Phoenix this coming weekend.
Chastain credited his video-game prowess for the move.
“Oh, played a lot of NASCAR 2005 on the GameCube with (younger brother) Chad growing up,” he said. “You can get away with it. I never knew if it would actually work.
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Ross Chastain gestures as he talks to a crew member during practice for the NASCAR auto race at Martinsville Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Martinsville, Virginia.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
“I mean, I did that when I was eight years old. I grabbed fifth gear, asked off of two on the last lap if we needed it, and we did. I couldn’t tell who was leading. I made the choice, grabbed fifth gear down the back. Full committed. Basically let go of the wheel, hoping I didn’t catch the turn four access gate or something crazy. But I was willing to do it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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