It seems the rivalry that started this year with the COTA race between Ross Chastain and Joey Logano is not subsiding anytime soon, as the Trackhouse Racing driver took an indirect dig at the #22 driver at Texas Motor Speedway.
Advertisement
While Chastain admitted that he wasn’t very confident about his car since the practice and qualifying day itself, he noted they needed to improve the setup. However, he added that he was cheering for Michael McDowell to win, particularly because it would have meant Logano losing.
At Martinsville, after Logano had finished P8 following a crash he claimed Chastain initiated, the Trackhouse driver responded by saying he was “confused” by Logano’s remarks. During the race, Chase Briscoe and Logano were racing side-by-side behind Chastain when the #19 JGR driver moved up and made contact with Logano, causing the #22 to spin. Chastain defended his move, stating there was a gap when he pulled down in front of Logano.
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.” Chastain added that Logano seemed to be blaming a car [his] that was two spots back for the wreck at COTA and then again at Martinsville, but insisted that wasn’t the case in either instance.
So, this time, as Michael McDowell battled for the win late at Texas Motor Speedway, Ross Chastain, still carrying frustration over Joey Logano’s earlier remarks, was openly rooting for the #71 driver. However, a crash with three laps remaining cut McDowell’s run short.
Disappointed by the same, in his post-race interview, Chastain remarked, “There’s never been anybody in the series cheering for the #71 car harder, not on his team, than I was, so wanted to see him win over that guy for sure.”
On the restart with 10 laps to go, McDowell’s #71 Chevy slipped past Ryan Blaney for the lead. With four laps left, Logano closed in, and by the next lap, McDowell had dropped to third behind Blaney. As McDowell exited Turn 2, he lost control and hit the outside SAFER barrier on the backstretch, ending his race with a 26th-place finish.
A hard block from McDowell on Lap 264 forced both him and Logano toward the inside wall. Logano recovered quickly, charged into Turn 3, and took the lead. Blaney seized the opening, drawing even with McDowell into Turn 1, but McDowell’s slip handed Logano the advantage, who ultimately crossed the line first, claiming his first victory of the season.
