Race Report- Talladega Wild Ride, Chastain Gets 2nd Win of 2022

24 APRIL 2022
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA — Ross Chastain was P3 as the field took the white flag for a wild last lap in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. Chastain emerged from the chaos out of Turn 4 to take his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

FINAL LAP CHAOS
Chastain (№ 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet) was running third behind Erik Jones (№ 43 Petty GMS Chevrolet) and Kyle Larson (№ 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) with one lap to go. As the field powered toward the finish line, Larson moved to the outside, trying to make a pass for the lead. But Jones pulled in front of Larson to block the momentum while Chastain kept his Chevy Camaro low capturing the win by 0.105. “We just stayed down there,” Chastain said over the radio.

Credit: TALLADEGA, ALABAMA — APRIL 24: Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 24, 2022 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

“I‘m always the one going to the top too early and making the mistake and there at the end, with like eight (laps) to go I was like ‘I‘m not going up there again, I did that a couple times today,” said Chastain. “I was like, I‘ll just drive the bottom, I‘m not going to lose the race for us. They just kept going up and moving out of the way.”

Austin Dillon (№ 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) crossed the line P2, followed by Kyle Busch (№ 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) P3 with Kyle Larson (№ 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) finishing fourth (Larson’s first top-five finish on a superspeedway in 31 attempts). Martin Truex Jr. was P5 followed by Jones P6, Chase Elliott P7, Michael McDowell P8, Alex Bowman P9, and Kevin Harvick P10.

Bubba Wallace, driver of the №23 McDonald’s Toyota, spins into the wall after an on-track incident as Ross Chastain, driver of the №1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, Erik Jones, driver of the №43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson, driver of the №5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, lead the field to the end of the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Sean Gardner | Getty Images)

Larson P4 his Best Ever at Talladega
“I felt like I did a pretty near perfect job for me at a superspeedway until the last lap there,” said Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion. “I should have faked going high and gone back low. I had that run there. Just that little inexperience there, probably,” he added.

Kyle Larson, driver of the №5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. (James Gilbert | Getty Images)

The Big One
A multi-car crash on a Stage 2 restart eliminated a number of contenders. Joey Logano’s № 22 Ford Mustang was pushed out of line into the outside wall, then back into traffic collecting several cars. The № 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Daniel Suárez, joined Logano, Ty Dillon and Harrison Burton with the crash sending all of them behind the wall.

Up Next: Dover Motor Speedway Duramax Drydene 400
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