Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ross Chastain did not have the most ideal of starts to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open race at Texas Motor Speedway, as he was sent to the back of the pack and his crew chief was ejected after his No. 42 car was found to have some adjustment to air ducts that NASCAR did not approve of.
Starting in the back didn’t matter.
In a wild opening Stage of the All-Star Open, which saw spins by Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher and a crash that wiped out Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez (see video here), Chastain rallied from the rear of the field to take the lead from Tyler Reddick on the final lap.
See you in the #AllStarRace, @RossChastain!
He wins Round 1 of the All-Star Open! pic.twitter.com/x9L3eEmICy
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 13, 2021
Chastain pulled away and secured his place in the $1-million NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race, which will be contested at 8PM ET on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.