A final-lap tangle between Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch capped an eventful day of full-contact racing at Sonoma Raceway, and the two Chevrolet drivers came away from Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event with different results and positions .
Contact between the two drivers in a battle for fifth place caused Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy to spin in Turn 4A, just short of the chute of the 3.99-mile road course. Busch recovered for a 12th-place finish, his fourth straight finish outside the top 10.
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“We lost track position, but our strategy kept us in the race,” said Busch, whose winless streak reached 37 races. “A few guys there at the end of the race had better tires than us, but we were going to have a good day. Unfortunately one of those guys bumped into us on the last lap and ruined our day. It’s frustrating not to get the finish we deserved.”
Chastain drove the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to his first top-five finish since March, but admitted after the race that he was still trying to process the strategic shake-up that put him out of contention for the win. a charging Kyle Larson. Chase Elliott’s bump for position at the final corner briefly pushed Chastain out of the top five, but he moved back up to fifth in the final order after both drivers were crashed just before the checkered flag by a fuel-dry Martin Truex Jr. had been shot.
“I’m not sure what happened to the 8 either, I’ll be honest,” Chastain told NASCAR.com. “I’m pretty confused about most things here, but he checked out in (Turn) 4A. I jumped out to avoid hitting him and then locked myself inside to his right. So I’m definitely trying not to run into him, and then I get run into by the 9 (Elliott) for a spot in (Turn) 11. A lot of (Chevrolet) ties are running together today. I’m glad one of them got the win.”
Kyle Busch’s wife, Samantha, had her own assessment of the last-lap collision in a post-race post shared on X.
Chastain moved up one spot in the provisional standings for the Cup Series Playoffs field. Busch moved up two spots, but is still the first driver outside the postseason Field of 16 – eight points behind Bubba Wallace.
