Ross Chastain Emerges from Last-Lap Chaos at COTA, Captures First Cup Series Victory

It doesn’t get much crazier than that…

After three consecutive finishes inside the top-three, Ross Chastain and Trackhouse Racing have finally found their way to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series, capturing the victory in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas.

Chastain led a race-high 31 laps en-route to his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, but the path to get there wasn’t exactly uneventful.

On the final restart of the race, in NASCAR Overtime, Chastain was able to get back onto the track in prime position – after being pushed wide by race leader Tyler Reddick in turn one — eventually squeezing his way into the top spot.

Just one lap later, on the final lap of the event, Allmendinger had tracked the Trackhouse Racing entry down from nearly a second behind, to attempt to make a move for the victory, when all hell broke loose, allowing third-place Alex Bowman to be in the picture as well.

Both Allmendinger and Bowman would get ahead of the Alva, Florida-native at one point in the race’s final four corners, with Chastain eventually coming back into the fray exiting turn 19, nudging the Kaulig Racing entry, and sending it spinning into Bowman.

Video: Ross Chastain Initiates Contact on Allmendinger, Bowman to Score First-Career Cup Win in Frantic Finish

“It’s insane. To go up against some of the best with AJ, I mean, I know he is going to be upset with me, but we raced hard, both of us, and he owes me one,” Chastain said. “But when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight.”

Alex Bowman would ultimately finish in second place, with Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Tyler Reddick rounding out the top-five. Polesitter Ryan Blaney finished in sixth, with Martin Truex Jr, Austin Cindric, Erik Jones, and Austin Dillon rounding out the top-10.

AJ Allmendinger, who was in prime position to become the winningest road course driver in NASCAR National Series history, was relegated back to 33rd, after being spun and stuck in the gravel trap.

Daniel Suarez, who won the race’s first stage, finished in 24th, after being spun in the opening laps of stage two, and later suffering power steering issues on his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

Exiting Circuit of The Americas, Chase Elliott continues to hold a 13-point advantage over Ryan Blaney, who sits second in the point standings. Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.