Ross Chastain has been left confused after Joey Logano’s rant against him at the Martinsville Speedway. The defending champion had accused Chastain of triggering an accident that led to him getting spun in the final stage. He had also resorted to name-calling in the heat of the moment. Chastain appreciates neither.
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Logano and Chase Briscoe were racing side-by-side behind Chastain with less than 91 laps left in the race. Briscoe came up the track and hit Logano, causing him to spin. From Logano’s point of view, Chastain was at fault for blocking Briscoe from entering Turn 3. He said, “I can’t even blame Briscoe for shipping him. I think he got himself in a bind trying to ship him.”
“He just races like a jackass every week, and I keep paying the price. I’m sick of paying the price.” The press couldn’t hear from Chastain since he did not finish in the top 5 or win a stage. However, they were able to get his thoughts in the NASCAR Production Facility on Wednesday.
He said, “He’s [Logano] mad from COTA. He says that I pushed a car into him late in the race. When I first heard about it, I honestly didn’t understand what they were saying, he said. … I just couldn’t believe what they were saying and what they were telling me, he said.”
The driver continued to express his disappointment at getting name-called by a three-time champion. He added, “He’s a three-time champ. He can say what he wants, but those words have a lot of weight and to just get out and spew that, call me those names is not appreciated. Not warranted I don’t think.”
Will Chastain give Logano a phone call to settle things?
For all his image as an aggressive driver, Chastain handled the issue with surprising maturity. He gave Logano the benefit of the doubt and explained that maybe the Team Penske driver would calm down if given some time. At the same time, he isn’t submissive enough to apologize for a mistake that he knows he didn’t make.
He acknowledged that such an accusation would pass in COTA and not in Martinsville. He explained, “COTA is kind of like a lot of running into people, and to blame a car two cars back, OK, he can do it, and I took it. He can have that. (Martinsville) I wrecked him in front of him. It’s like, I don’t know, he’s hearing footsteps when I’m not there.”
Logano can be assured that he won’t be receiving a phone call from Chastain. The champion had stated in his interview with the press on Sunday that he didn’t want to talk to Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing driver is only glad to help him keep that word. He stated that he is far too tired to try to make amends.
