NASCAR: 3 drivers who missed great opportunities at Talladega
By Asher Fair
NASCAR playoff drivers who missed out: No. 3 – Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing Team’s Ross Chastain found himself nine points below the round of 8 cut line after being the first driver to crash out at Talladega.
Because he finished in 38th place with the crash, he didn’t even gain a point when he was promoted to 37th due to Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick being disqualified, as all drivers who finish outside of the top 35 score just a single point.
Every other driver still fighting to get into the round of 12 did score an extra point, since Harvick initially finished in second place, meaning that Chastain is now 10 points below the cut line.
It may not seem like much, but the fact that Bubba Wallace did gain a point actually moved him ahead of Chastain in the standings, meaning he now has to pass three drivers to get into the round of 8 instead of only two. We have, in fact, seen multiple playoff round advancements decided by tiebreakers before.
Still, the worst part about it for Chastain is the fact that all he needed to do on Sunday was literally not crash to find himself above the cut line heading into Charlotte, given his impressive runner-up finish to open up the round of 12 at Texas.
Although Trackhouse Racing Team have three non-oval wins as a team since last year and Chastain himself has earned one, he has struggled in road course races this season. There is now a very good chance that Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell ends up being the only driver from last year’s Championship 4 in this year’s round of 8.
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