Ross Chastain earned his first victory of the 2024 season and the fifth of his career with an impressive victory at Kansas. He held off William Byron in the final 20 laps to capture the checkered flag. Chastain is the first driver to ever win five Cup races with the No. 1, becoming the winningest driver in the number's history.
"It's a huge deal," said Chastain while taking a bite out of a freshly smashed watermelon. "For us on this No. 1 team, this is what Cup racing is all about. It's what Justin Marks bought into Trackhouse with Pitbull -- to do stuff like this. To disrupt. There's been times this year when we couldn't have disrupted [a] minnow pond outside of Darlington, let alone a Cup race. It's hard. It's really tough."
Byron finished second, Martin Truex Jr. third, Ryan Blaney fourth, and Ty Gibbs fifth. Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Zane Smith rounded out the top-ten.
A caution near the end of Stage 2 jumbled the running order around as several cars chose to pit early while many playoff drivers stayed out to try and earn some extra stage points. This put a new group of drivers out front for the start of the final stage. Carson Hocevar led briefly, but Chastain charged from fifth to first and held the lead for some time.
Kyle Busch eventually ran him down and clawed the lead away after an intense battle, holding the advantage through the final round of green-flag pit stops. Busch was trying to keep his streak of 19 consecutive years with a Cup win alive, extending it to 20.
But while fending off Chastain, he got in an awkward aero spot at the exit of Turn 2 trying to lap Chase Briscoe. Busch tagged the wall and spun out, causing a caution and ending his shot at the win.
.@KyleBusch spins from the lead! 😱 #NASCARPlayoffs #NASCAR
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) September 29, 2024
🎥 @NASCARonNBC pic.twitter.com/iSDCL6iJ88
Truex Jr. is another driver trying to earn his first win of the year, and he managed to snatch the lead on pit road. Brad Keselowski stayed out, but quickly faded as another wreck broke out in the middle of the pack. The final restart came with 20 laps remaining. Chastain powered around Truex Jr. on the restart and never looked back, taking the checkered flag about four tenths clear of Byron.
Below the cut-line
The playoff picture is tight entering the wildcard race at Talladega. Kyle Larson cut a tire and crashed early, struggling home to a 26th place finish. He remains fourth in the standings, but only 18 points above the cut-line. Joey Logano is on the bubble, four points above Tyler Reddick. Daniel Suarez is 14 points out, Chase Briscoe 25 points out, and Austin Cindric 29 points out.
Hendrick drivers swept the stages with Byron winning Stage 1 and Bowman winning Stage 2, keeping them near the top of the standings leaving Kansas. Chastain becomes the second non-playoff driver to win in the first four races of the postseason and the 17th different race winner in the Cup Series this year.
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Pits | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 267 |
3:14'53.982 |
9 | 40 | ||
| 2 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+0.388 3:14'54.370 |
0.388 | 10 | 52 | |
| 3 | M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 267 |
+0.868 3:14'54.850 |
0.480 | 10 | 40 | |
| 4 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 267 |
+2.551 3:14'56.533 |
1.683 | 10 | 49 | |
| 5 |
T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing
|
54 | Toyota | 267 |
+4.437 3:14'58.419 |
1.886 | 9 | 46 | |
| 6 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+5.618 3:14'59.600 |
1.181 | 10 | 43 | |
| 7 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 267 |
+6.442 3:15'00.424 |
0.824 | 10 | 36 | |
| 8 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 267 |
+6.833 3:15'00.815 |
0.391 | 11 | 36 | |
| 9 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+9.557 3:15'03.539 |
2.724 | 10 | 30 | |
| 10 |
Z. SmithSpire Motorsports
|
71 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+10.131 3:15'04.113 |
0.574 | 10 | 27 | |
| 11 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 267 |
+10.840 3:15'04.822 |
0.709 | 10 | 26 | |
| 12 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+11.407 3:15'05.389 |
0.567 | 11 | 25 | |
| 13 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+11.786 3:15'05.768 |
0.379 | 10 | 24 | |
| 14 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 267 |
+12.909 3:15'06.891 |
1.123 | 11 | 32 | |
| 15 | C. LajoieRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 267 |
+13.796 3:15'07.778 |
0.887 | 11 | 22 | |
| 16 | R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing | 41 | Ford | 267 |
+13.861 3:15'07.843 |
0.065 | 10 | 21 | |
| 17 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 267 |
+15.325 3:15'09.307 |
1.464 | 10 | 20 | |
| 18 | N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing | 10 | Ford | 267 |
+15.523 3:15'09.505 |
0.198 | 10 | 19 | |
| 19 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+16.206 3:15'10.188 |
0.683 | 10 | 22 | |
| 20 | D. HemricKaulig Racing | 31 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+17.082 3:15'11.064 |
0.876 | 10 | 17 | |
| 21 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+17.718 3:15'11.700 |
0.636 | 12 | ||
| 22 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 267 |
+18.272 3:15'12.254 |
0.554 | 10 | 21 | |
| 23 | H. BurtonWood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ford | 267 |
+18.288 3:15'12.270 |
0.016 | 12 | 14 | |
| 24 | C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing | 14 | Ford | 267 |
+18.569 3:15'12.551 |
0.281 | 10 | 14 | |
| 25 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 267 |
+19.190 3:15'13.172 |
0.621 | 10 | 12 | |
| 26 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+20.041 3:15'14.023 |
0.851 | 16 | 11 | |
| 27 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 267 |
+20.632 3:15'14.614 |
0.591 | 10 | 10 | |
| 28 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+21.468 3:15'15.450 |
0.836 | 10 | 9 | |
| 29 | M. McDowellFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 267 |
+21.651 3:15'15.633 |
0.183 | 10 | 8 | |
| 30 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 267 |
+22.902 3:15'16.884 |
1.251 | 13 | 7 | |
| 31 | K. GralaRick Ware Racing | 15 | Ford | 267 |
+23.243 3:15'17.225 |
0.341 | 9 | 6 | |
| 32 |
C. HocevarSpire Motorsports
|
77 | Chevrolet | 267 |
+29.967 3:15'23.949 |
6.724 | 10 | 11 | |
| 33 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 266 |
+1 Lap 3:15'17.149 |
1 Lap | 11 | 4 | |
| 34 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 263 |
+4 Laps 3:15'17.496 |
3 Laps | 12 | 7 | |
| 35 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 263 |
+4 Laps 3:15'24.587 |
7.091 | 12 | 2 | |
| 36 | J. JohnsonLegacy Motor Club | 84 | Toyota | 257 |
+10 Laps 3:14'58.327 |
6 Laps | 12 | 1 | |
| 37 | J. YeleyNY Racing Team | 44 | Chevrolet | 118 |
+149 Laps 1:26'45.285 |
139 Laps | 6 | ||
| 38 | J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing | 4 | Ford | 0 |
+267 Laps 2.043 |
118 Laps | 2 | 1 |
