After winning the O'Reilly race, Ross Chastain faced an upside-down situation on Sunday, as the Trackhouse Racing driver was handed a DNF after he made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. However, Chastain decided not to blame Stenhouse Jr. for the incident, despite past instances.

"Yeah, I was turning to the right before I knew what happened," Chastain told the media after the race, speaking about the incident. "I don't think so. Nothing from my side, nothing intentional. He hadn't gotten a bad restart. He hadn't been racing with us all night. Yeah, I don't think there was any intent."

Chastain started the race from 27th place after qualifying was washed out due to rain. As a consequence, NASCAR allotted the starting grid based on last week's race finishes at Watkins Glen, as per the protocol.

Stenhouse Jr., on the other hand, started from 32nd place and soon arrived by the side of Chastain as the race went on. However, an incident took place in Lap 317, when Chastain tried to cover off Stenhouse Jr. and keep his place.

Chastain was running in the bottom and Stenhouse Jr was running alongside the outside wall.

As a result, Stenhouse Jr. nudged Chastain's car and bumped him, sending the latter spinning against the SAFER barrier. While this isn't the first time the Hyak Motorsports driver was involved in such an incident, Chastain let him walk free and did not hold him accountable.

In the end, the Trackhouse Racing driver had to go home with a DNF, whereas Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished the race in 12th place. With the wreck on Sunday, Chastain experienced a bittersweet week at Charlotte, as he won a race on Saturday and paid tribute to Kyle Busch.

Ross Chastain paid tribute to Kyle Busch after NOAPS win

On Saturday, Ross Chastain claimed the victory at the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race, the Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Following the victory, he celebrated his win by squashing a watermelon, but this time, with a tribute to the late Busch.

“I didn't know what I was going to do. And we had conversations about, do we smash the watermelon or not? We were very aware and mourning with everybody,” Chastain said, as he bowed down for Busch.

“The bow I did was in the most respectful way of showmanship to one of the greatest drivers I've ever raced against, and to do it as a nod to him.”

Kyle Busch, 41, passed away on Thursday, May 21, after suffering from pneumonia, which rapidly progressed into sepsis. His sudden demise left the entire Motorsports fraternity in shock, and Ross Chastain was no different.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas