DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s the biggest event in stock car racing, and the white flag is waving in the air. What move would you make to win?
For Ross Chastain, his plan was simple. He had a full head of steam on the outside line when William Byron went up to block. Not wanting to lose his momentum and lose a chance at Daytona 500, Chastain turned to the left in an attempt to go around the No. 24.
But just as he made his move, Corey LaJoie got into the back of Austin Cindric, which shot the No. 2 up at the same moment the No. 1 was moving down. The two spun through the infield grass and brought out a caution that allowed Byron to win his first Daytona 500 under caution.
Chastain’s move to win the race may not have worked, but he had no regrets.
“I saw the white flag of the Daytona 500 and we were crossing it with a run on the leader,” Chastain said. “Flashbacks of the Duels with the No. 24 (Byron) getting turned right there. If I try to push him, if I lift, I don’t take my momentum. And I obviously should have lifted, but I just turned left and tried to win the Daytona 500.”
And despite the heartbreak of a Daytona 500 win slipping out of fingertips, Chastain was at peace with how the run to the white flag went down.
“I am [content],” Chastain said. “I mean, to learn the fuel savings game and really get aggressive and match these guys so that we can that hit when we need to. I’ve burned up too much fuel in the past couple of races, and to put ourselves in a position on the final pit stop and to come out with the lead, cover the other OEMs when they caught up to us and just work with some legends of the sport and to have control of the race there at the end. …
“I really do feel content. It’s weird to say it, but we did everything right and I just was too aggressive with my turn left and should’ve just waited maybe longer.”
He also had nothing but praise for Byron’s victory, which marked back-to-back victories in the Daytona 500 for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports’ first Daytona 500 victory since 2014.
“Happy for Willliam and Chevy and General Motors to win,” he said. “It was really, really awesome for us to control some of these pit cycles, really kick their butt. So that was really cool. And then to have a bunch of Chevys left at the end there made me feel good.”
When asked about what experiences he…
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