Ross Chastain finds himself in a difficult situation after the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400. He finished P12 in a chaotic race that saw several cars being taken out but his playoff chances have also taken a big hit. With just one race remaining in the regular season, the Trackhouse Racing driver is 27 points behind the cutline. That deficit can be made up in one race but it is going to take one hell of an effort from the Watermelon Man.
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Despite being in a tough spot, the driver of the #1 car did not seem too disappointed in a post-race interview after Saturday’s event. He acknowledged that there were things he could have done differently to be in a better spot. However, he remains positive ahead of the upcoming Southern 500.
Despite being caught up in @DAYTONA pileup, @RossChastain finished 12th. He was one of the drivers who stopped by Victory Lane to congratulate@HBurtonRacing on his win . I caught up with Ross as he left. pic.twitter.com/As48WTUcR1
— Claire B Lang (@ClaireBLang) August 25, 2024
Trackhouse Racing has had some good runs at Darlington Raceway as per Chastain. In the earlier race at the track this season, he finished P11 and will hope to improve on that performance this time around.
“I look at it like we have another chance to go and win the Southern 500. That’s what I will focus on next week. The points, they give them out, stages and end of the race, you run good, they give you lots of them. I just…get excited for a chance to go win the Southern 500,” he told Bob Pockrass. “At Darlington, we’ll have a shot, we’ll all know together…we definitely did in the spring but we’ve had more than our fair chances to win the Southern 500.”
He might feel like he has a shot at doing well at Darlington but he’s not going to be the only driver fighting for a playoff spot. Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher are all within touching distance of each other. Buescher is the only one out of them inside the playoff bubble, but only just. One can expect a lot of aggressive driving at one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks for a place in the last 16 next weekend.
What does the playoff picture look like after Daytona?
The Trackhouse Racing star’s situation was not helped by Harrison Burton winning the race. The 23-year-old took the checkered flags against all odds as he got the better of Kyle Busch on the final lap.
He locked in a playoff spot as a result and now there are only three spots remaining points-wise. Martin Truex Jr. has a comfortable 58-point cushion and should be safe if he runs well and finishes the race in Darlington.
WELCOME TO THE #NASCAR PLAYOFFS, HARRISON BURTON! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/VgwHUGkUYH
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 25, 2024
Ty Gibbs occupies the 15th spot and is 39 points ahead of the cutline. He too should be safe barring a DNF in the Southern 500. Buescher currently holds the final playoff spot, 21 points to the good.
Wallace is right behind him 21 points below the cutline followed by Chastain who is 27 points behind. The situation is delicate between these three and it seems like only one of them will be able to make the round of 16.
