Ross Chastain’s playoff ambitions came to a dramatic halt on Sunday at the Charlotte Roval in Concord, N.C., as a last-lap crash dashed his shot at advancing, making the Ross Chastain playoff elimination one of the most talked-about moments in recent NASCAR postseason history. Entering the final lap just one point ahead of Joey Logano and fighting for a crucial transfer spot, Chastain’s hopes evaporated after a chaotic sequence of events at the finish.
Critical Final Lap Unravels Chastain’s Chances
The closing moments of the elimination race saw Chastain battling hard to maintain his playoff position on the demanding 17-turn, 2.28-mile Charlotte Roval circuit. Leading Joey Logano by the thinnest margin, Chastain encountered trouble in Turn 7 when Denny Hamlin made a move underneath him in the hairpin corner, slipping past and changing the playoff landscape instantly.
Chastain described what happened in the pivotal corner:
(Hamlin) wasn’t even close to me and I downshifted unnecessarily into first (gear) to make sure I turned the corner and I slipped the rear (tires) and let him drive right by me,
— Ross Chastain, Driver.
This mistake created a tie for the last playoff transfer spot with Logano. However, Logano held the tiebreaker and was in a position to advance if Chastain finished behind Hamlin.
Desperate Final Moves and the Decisive Wreck
With his season on the line, Chastain attempted an aggressive pass on Hamlin while negotiating the treacherous frontstretch chicane, the final turns before the finish line. The desperate move sent both cars spinning moments before the checkered flag.
From the radio traffic, spotter Coleman Pressley urgently relayed to Logano’s team:
He’s wrecking, he’s wrecking, he’s wrecking,
— Coleman Pressley, Spotter.
The spotter continued to guide Logano through the aftermath, saying,
He’s middle of the track. He’s middle of the track. Stay on track. Stay low. Stay low. Stay low. Throttle up. Throttle up. Throttle up.
— Coleman Pressley, Spotter.
While Alex Bowman slipped by the incident, Chastain thrust his vehicle in reverse, trying to cross the line backwards in a last-ditch attempt to salvage his playoff run. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and then Logano both managed to overtake Chastain before he reached the finish, ending his championship pursuit.
After the race, Pressley commended Logano for surviving the turmoil, to which Logano responded emotionally:
Way to make it through boys.
— Joey Logano, Driver.
Disappointment and Reflection After Playoff Exit
As the reality of elimination set in, Chastain sat in his parked car near Denny Hamlin’s for several minutes on pit road. Car owner Justin Marks came by and exchanged words with him, leading to a brief but telling exchange. Chastain shared,
I said, ‘Don’t thank me now. I need a minute.’
— Ross Chastain, Driver.
The defeat weighed heavily on Chastain, who openly expressed regret for his own mistakes, including the costly Turn 7 error and two separate pit road misjudgments. He recounted how a wide exit while pitting at the end of the first stage forced him to halt to avoid a crash, dropping him from fifth to 30th. Chastain recovered to finish fourth in stage two but later received a speeding penalty during another pit stop, causing him to slide back in the field once more.
Ultimately, Chastain acknowledged responsibility for his elimination:
I single-handedly took a car out of the round of 8,
— Ross Chastain, Driver.
He also offered a heartfelt apology to Hamlin and the Joe Gibbs Racing team:
I’m sorry to JGR and his whole team. They were definitely innocent bystanders.
— Ross Chastain, Driver.
Denny Hamlin’s Perspective and Uninformed Moves
Denny Hamlin’s post-race emotions were complicated. Frustrated, Hamlin directed some of that frustration at his own team for not informing him of the last-lap points scenario. Without clear information, he described being unsure of what was at stake in the final battle:
Truthfully, I wish I would have just known what the last-lap scenario was and then I make the best decision I can for me,
— Denny Hamlin, Driver.
Hamlin added,
No one told me anything. I absolutely had no idea. Truthfully, I didn’t know if I was racing for 25th or 10th. I had no idea of my position. … I didn’t know (Chastain) was desperate. I wish I would have.
— Denny Hamlin, Driver.
Had he understood the points, Hamlin indicated he might have made a different decision:
I would have made the best decision for me.
— Denny Hamlin, Driver.
Playoff Dynamics and Logano’s Path Forward
The chaotic final lap at Charlotte left Logano, not Chastain, advancing to the playoffs’ next round. It was a sharp turnaround from a year ago, when Logano was initially eliminated at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, only to be reinstated after Alex Bowman’s disqualified car re-opened the door for Logano, helping to set up his third title win.
This season, the outcome was decisive. There was a Sunday disqualification, but it involved Riley Herbst’s car, which failed to meet minimum weight requirements, leaving the playoff positions unchanged. The focus for Logano and Team Penske is now on clinching another championship, their fourth Cup title. Logano offered insight into their competitive mindset:
It’s the way we operate. We just keep going and going and trying to stay alive.
— Joey Logano, Driver.
What This Elimination Means for the NASCAR Playoffs
The defeat underscores the unforgiving nature of the NASCAR playoff system, where each mistake is magnified and a single miscalculation can eliminate even the most determined drivers and teams. For Ross Chastain, the mix of strategic missteps and high-stakes racing at the Charlotte Roval turned a promising run into heartbreak, as he reflected on missed opportunities with a heavy heart.
Meanwhile, with competitors like Logano, Hamlin, and Team Penske forging ahead into the next playoff round, the chase for the Cup continues. The aftermath of this wild race will likely impact strategies and communication among teams, as the margin for error shrinks even smaller with each race remaining in the playoffs.
