UPDATE: Wednesday, August 4, 2021:
Ross Chastain has officially gotten the last laugh. After announcing that he was running the Watkins Glen truck race for Niece Motorsports, only to be reminded by media and fans alike on Twitter that he was ineligible, a Chastain will run the No. 45 truck at The Glen this weekend afterall. Chad Chastain, Ross’ brother will slide behind the wheel to make his first-ever NASCAR National Series start.
Original Story: Monday, August 2, 2021:
On Saturday evening, Ross Chastain released a video where he was happy to announce that he would be running this upcoming weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Watkins Glen International in the No. 45 Niece Motorsports truck.
I will be driving the @NieceMotorsports @NYSGTSC truck at WGI next week! Don't forget to #BuckleUpNY pic.twitter.com/CaTOd2gpYT
— Ross Chastain (@RossChastain) August 1, 2021
While the announcement seemed fine and it was cool that we could possibly be seeing his patented watermelon paint scheme, it turns out Chastain is not eligible to compete in the event per the NASCAR Rule Book.
After Chastain made the announcement, TobyChristie.com’s Joseph Srigley responded to the tweet with a screenshot of the portion of the rulebook, which declares Chastain and any other driver who has declared for NASCAR Cup Series points in 2021, ineligible to compete in any of the final eight NCWTS events of the year.
The passage from the rulebook states:
“A driver that has elected to accumulate Points in the NASCAR Cup Series is not eligible to enter the last eight Events of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race season.”
Ross Chastain announces he'll drive the No. 45 Niece Motorsports entry in the NCWTS event at Watkins Glen next weekend.
But, Chastain isn't eligible to enter, as drivers running for points in the NASCAR Cup Series cannot enter the last eight NCWTS events of the year.#NASCAR https://t.co/upkVbhKO6w pic.twitter.com/MOVWtPZFHi
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) August 1, 2021
On Sunday, after waking up to a rash of replies from fans asking whether he was actually eligible, Chastain responded with a pretty hilarious reply video, where he said, “I thought I was allowed.”
Well, I guess this is the only Silverado I’ll get to Buckle Up and Protect My Melon in https://t.co/as0vSn6e1F pic.twitter.com/qKs5kbtAZ8
— Ross Chastain (@RossChastain) August 1, 2021
Despite the false announcement, Chastain made up for it with some incredible video content over the weekend.
Without a Truck Series start on his slate this weekend, the 28-year old will have nothing but the Cup Series race to focus on, which may actually be a good thing as he has four races left to lock himself into the 2021 Playoffs.
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