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Ross Chastain apologized for his driving after finishing in eighth place at the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday.
Chastain, who’s currently third in the Cup Series standings after 15 starts, drove aggressively throughout Sunday’s race, angering fellow drivers Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. Both drivers retaliated later in the race, prompting Chastain to explain his actions after the checkered flag.
“I just drove over my head so many times,” Chastain told Dustin Long of NBC Sports while walking back to the garage after the race. “It’s one thing to do it once, but I just kept driving into guys.
“I can’t believe walking back right now that I did it repeatedly, and I had time to stop and think out there under caution. It would go green, and I would do it again. I’ve tried so hard to be better.
“Words are not going to fix it. An apology is not going to fix it. Just terrible.”
Chastain hit Hamlin’s car from behind and sent it into the wall as the two competitors raced for sixth place on Lap 64. Hamlin was forced to come in for repairs and never got back into contention, but impeded upon Chastain in retaliation twice before the end of the race.
“It seems like there’s no sense of conscience there that says maybe I’m being a bit aggressive,” Hamlin said of Chastain to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “That’s his decision to make. He can make any decision that he wants to, honestly.
“He’s his own guy, and he’s been very successful doing what he’s doing. Ultimately, this sport is self-policing and usually when you least suspect it — and it means the most — it comes back around.”
Later in the race, Chastain squeezed Austin Dillon and Elliott on a restart. He collided with Elliott, prompting another caution on Lap 103.
Elliott was heard on his team’s radio expressing his frustration with Chastain: “What’s he doing? He ran me over getting into (Turn) 3 and then runs me over again.”
Elliott attempted to send a message shortly after, bumping Chastain and sending him toward the wall.
“I owe half of the field an apology,” Chastain said to Jamie Little of Fox Sports. “Words aren’t going to fix it, so I’ll have to pay for it on the track. I almost did today and I deserve everything that they do.”
