Ross Chastain exits early after Stage 2 crash at Pocono, dips in playoff standings

Ross Chastain found early trouble in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, exiting in a Stage 2 crash at Pocono Raceway.

Chastain started 19th in the 37-car field in Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400. His No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was running 21st before it broke loose in Turn 3 in the 53rd of a scheduled 160 laps, making significant right-side contact with the outside retaining wall.

RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos: Pocono

Chastain scraped the Turn 1 wall as he nursed the No. 1 Chevy back to pit road. His Trackhouse crew determined that the damage was terminal due to broken control arms in the right front, ending Chastain’s day.

Chastain was credited with a 36th-place finish, one spot ahead of Noah Gragson, who was the race’s first retiree in an opening-stage wreck.

“I just flat spun out,” Chastain said upon getting evaluated and released from the infield care center. “We’re all sliding around, but I just spun out.”

Chastain entered the 400-miler in 12th place in the Cup Series standings, with a 53-point cushion relative to the playoff elimination line. After Sunday’s event, he slipped below Chris Buescher to become the last driver on the provisional playoff grid, now unofficially holding just a 27-point edge over Bubba Wallace with just five races left in the regular season before the 16-driver postseason field is set.

Chastain emphasized his disappointment after simply sliding wide, his right-rear quarter panel catching the SAFER barrier before a right-front crunch.

“I’m just worried about why I spun out,” Chastain said. “I’m a race car driver in the Cup Series. I shouldn’t be doing that. You don‘t see us do that too often. So when I do it myself, I’m as surprised as everybody else.”

Crew chief Phil Surgen told NASCAR.com that Chastain had warned the car was sliding and in need of an adjustment on the next stop.

“We started that run on those tires a little bit tight and it built looser,” Surgen said. “So I think a couple of laps prior, he had said that the car’s freed up now and needs some right-rear grip, so it was on the loose side there. Just unfortunate.”

Chastain was not much concerned with the playoff picture while trying to come to terms with his second DNF in the past three weeks. Surgen, on the other hand, had his mind on what lies ahead.

“We’ll just have to evaluate after today what happened to the other guys,” Surgen said. “They might end up in a similar situation and it won’t be much different — or things could look altogether different if we get a flyer that is back in points to win or something. We’ll see what happens. Like you said, the mindset doesn’t change. You’re gonna show up every week, try to be as fast as you can, sit on pole, win the race.

“As we close in at the end of the regular season, depending on where we are relative to those cars we’re racing, that’ll probably change the amount of risk we take for a win. But it’ll be really situational. You know, we’re not gonna go out and just throw Hail Marys next week just because.”

The hunt for the playoffs continues on July 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the return of the Brickyard 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Contributing: Zach Sturniolo