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NASCAR Crash Course: Is this a new beginning for Ross Chastain?

A 42-race winless streak bit the dust at what is expected to be Trackhouse Racing's home base in years to come

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AUTO: JUN 25 NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400
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Ross Chastain winning Sunday's Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway wasn't entirely surprising. He's now the only driver with top-5 finishes in all three events since the NASCAR Cup Series returned to this 1.33-mile oval in 2021.

No, what's impressive about Chastain's victory was how he did it.

One of the sport's most aggressive drivers, spending the past year rubbing fenders and building enemies, rolled into victory lane without a scratch on his No. 1 Chevrolet.From a late-race battle with Martin Truex, Jr. on down, Chastain raced hard but clean, surviving three-abreast restarts with those who had every reason to punt him months before. He put together a full-circle weekend, the first-time pole sitter charging back to the front to lead 45 of his race-high 99 laps in a caution-free final stage where patience was key.

Just like that, a 42-race winless streak bit the dust at what is expected to be Trackhouse Racing's home base in years to come.

Did Chastain's old reputation go with it?

"It's a huge moment," said Trackhouse owner Justin Marks on Sunday night. "Because Brad [Keselowski] went through this, Kevin Harvick went through this, Tony [Stewart], Carl [Edwards]. You have guys that show up that have so much speed and aggression, they have to learn how to compete at this level and compete in the series.

"That's the process Ross is going through right now."

Marks was referring to a long list of driver squabbles that bottomed out last month at Darlington Raceway. Chastain, with arguably the fastest car, wrecked out in a payback-gone-wrong with Kyle Larson, which angered the sport's most successful car owner in history, Rick Hendrick.

"He doesn't have to be that aggressive..." Hendrick said. "If you wreck us, you're going to get it back... I would think Justin would have a conversation and say, if you have a lot of people wanting to pay you back, then it's hard to win a championship that way."

When Hendrick talks, others listen, although how a push for change went down is a matter of debate. Marks said days later Chastain has "things he's got to clean up" but insisted this weekend a larger conversation's been overblown by the media. Instead, he claimed the focus has been on helping Chastain minimize lost "opportunities" to reach victory lane while internal support for his driver never wavered.

Whatever went down, for a few weeks after the crisis, Chastain seemed off. Runs of 22nd, 22nd and 10th cost him the points lead before the off week provided an opportunity to reset.

"My car chief David [Fero] is big on positive affirmations," Chastain said. "Surrounding our minds with good thoughts about how we can be better. I am, too. I read books that show me and teach me little ways to bring it all back down, getting to neutral...

"[My team] sees me doing that. They know that I'm all in."

And now Chastain has the on-track results to show for that commitment to refocus, beating a driver in Truex he called "his hero." In fact, there's an autographed Bass Pro Shops hat Chastain got as a kid still hanging up in his bedroom at home.

You know, there's a common thread in the drivers Marks listed above: three of the four became Cup champions. Could a fired-up Chastain finally find the right mix to check that off the bucket list in 2023?

Traffic Report

Green: Joe Gibbs Racing -- All four JGR Toyotas finished inside the top 15 Sunday as the team continues to build momentum beginning the summer stretch. It's not just Truex and Hamlin, winners of three of the past seven races; even young Ty Gibbs (just 10 points out of a playoff spot) is showing signs of life following a sluggish start.

Yellow: Chase Elliott -- A fourth-place finish for Elliott was marked by never having the right track position to contend; the No. 9 was always just a few rows too far back on restarts. While back-to-back top-5 finishes are just what the doctor ordered after an ugly one-race suspension, it's not the win this driver needs to sneak into this year's playoff field.

Red: Ford -- Kevin Harvick was the only Blue Oval with speed at Nashville until a flat tire ruined his night in the final stage. That meant not a single Ford out of 14 entered ran inside the top 10, a rare shutout that highlights how much they've lagged behind Chevrolet and Toyota on intermediates.

Speeding Ticket: Ryan Blaney's wreck -- The lone major incident Sunday night came when Ryan Blaney was spun on a restart, his No. 12 Ford hitting head-on into a concrete wall at the end of the frontstretch without any extra protection.

Calling for help immediately, Blaney thankfully wound up treated and released at the infield care center before pleading his case to NASCAR: fix it.

"I don't know why there's no SAFER Barrier there," Blaney said. "Pretty ridiculous. The hardest hit I have ever had in my life."

NASCAR released a statement after the race they'd investigate but the outcome is clear: Nashville needs a life-saving SAFER Barrier wherever there's a concrete wall the drivers can hit. It's a conversation no one should be having in 2023, but… here we are.

Oops!

We reach down into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this week as Hailie Deegan, a once-touted prospect, finds herself in hot water after triggering a multi-truck wreck.

The incident left one driver, Lawless Alan, lashing out over her continued struggles.

"She's talentless ... it's lap, what, 3, and you're already sailing it in there? I just don't understand It's not the first time she's wrecked me," Alan said. "She does it to f---ing everybody."

Despite jumping into championship-level equipment this year at Thorsport Racing, Deegan's average finish (21.5) is lower than her rookie season of 2021. It's led to mounting criticism her NASCAR experiment isn't producing the desired results to keep her career on track.

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