After putting on one of the most ridiculous spectacles at Martinsville last year to book his place in the final 4, Ross Chastain finished in second place behind Joey Logano at Phoenix. The Trackhouse driver has been incredibly vocal about going the full distance this time and looked incredibly solid during the first half of this season. His form fell off midway through the season, something he seeks to rectify as NASCAR is just a week away from the playoffs.
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Recently while speaking with the media at Daytona, the Trackhouse Racing driver mentioned how he had been mentally preparing for the first race in the playoffs rather than concentrating on just the upcoming race this weekend.
Ross Chastain shares his thoughts ahead of the Daytona finale
While speaking at the press conference, Chastain mentioned, “Personally, I am in Darlington already. I don’t hate to say it because it’s the truth. We have put effort in, and we think we have a car that can go and be competitive and play the race out as it comes.”
“I have learned to not come here with any grand plan, but yes, if there is a stage point or a win, then I am going to go for it. I have said it before and I plan on being backwards in the grass at 200 miles an hour. If I don’t hit anything too hard and I can get back to pit road, with minimal damage to the bottom of the car. I will still have a shot to win.”
Chastain has been notorious for pulling off audacious moves on the track, something that has been in check after a conversation with Rick Hendrick earlier this season.
“So, I don’t get upset when stuff happens at these places anymore. I used to be so on edge through the Truck Series. Then I heard an old veteran say that and it made a lot of sense. And it made my weeks leading up to these races a lot easier. So, mentally, we have already been preparing for Darlington.”
How has Chastain performed so far this season?
The melon man has done fairly well for himself throughout the duration of the regular season. After winning at Nashville, scoring his only win so far, Chastain locked himself into the playoffs early. At the moment, he sits in 8th place in the postseason standings, with 695 regular season points, 9 Top 10s, 6 Top 5s, and 463 laps led in 25 races.
Chastain has also dialed down on his continuous aggression against his fellow competitors, racing rather clean these days. Now with the playoffs approaching, we would have to wait and see if he would continue with his limited aggression. Not surprisingly, many expect the watermelon man to return to his old tactics pushing for a win in order to get a result.
