DARLINGTON, SC — Car owner Rick Hendrick issued a warning to Ross Chastain after Kyle Larson crashed for the third time in the last four races as a result of Chastain’s actions.
“I don’t care if he drives a Chevrolet if he breaks our cars,” Hendrick said of Chastain, who drives a Chevy for Trackhouse Racing. “I don’t care. That’s what I told Chevrolet. If you break us, you’ll get it back. If you don’t, they’ll run over you.
“I’m loyal to Chevrolet, but if someone hits us, I expect my guys to stand their ground. I will not ask them to back down just because of Chevrolet.”
Hendrick wasn’t done yet.
“He doesn’t have to be that aggressive,” Hendrick said of Chastain. “I guess at this point in the race you might be super aggressive, but you just don’t mislead people. He will make many enemies. It’s hard to win a championship when there’s a lot of wins.”
When asked if he needed involvement, Hendrick Chastains mentioned team owner Justin Marks.
“I would think Justin would strike up a conversation with Chastain.”
As for the message Marks was supposed to deliver?
“When you have a lot of people trying to pay you back, it’s hard to win a championship that way,” Hendrick said.
Of all the incidents involving Chastain, Hendrick said, “It gets really boring with these guys.”
Hendrick’s words filled a void left by Larson, who left the track without speaking to reporters.
Hendrick’s comments came after one of his drivers – William Byron – claimed his third consecutive Cup win at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.
But it could have been Larson if it wasn’t for Chastain.
Chastain and Larson were fighting for the lead at the restart with six laps to go when problems arose.
Chastain made contact with Larson and they struck again. Chastain’s right rear hit Larson’s left front. The contact flipped Chastain’s car sideways and damaged the left front of Larson’s car, ruining his chances of winning. Larson turned 20.
“I was totally into (Turn) 1 and I wanted to push[Larson],” Chastain said after exiting the Infield Care Center. “I didn’t want to put myself under his nose. I didn’t want to stand here and talk to all of you.”
In the previous restart, the roles had been reversed. Larson was in the lower lane and Chastain was in the upper lane. Chastain hit the wall.
When asked by his team if he hit the wall, Chastain replied over the radio, “Oh yeah. He drove us straight in.”
As Chastain debated which lane to choose for the next reboot, he asked his team if they thought Larson was done for, or if Larson would do the same.
The team responded by asking Chastain to choose the lane he felt stronger on. It was the reason that established his fateful contact with Larson.
Chastain and Larson’s troubles began in Talladega. Chastain’s contact with Noah Gragson at the front of the pack created an accordion effect that caught up with Larson and ended his race. Larson was 33.
At Dover the following week, Chastain got on the back of Brennan Poole and sent Poole’s car up the track at Larson, ending his chances of winning. Larson was 32.
After Sunday’s incident, crew chief Cliff Daniels told Larson on the radio: “Why did he just walk right into the fence? How does that even make sense? … Do three races now after he knocked us out, Chevrolet. Well done. Well done. Those are three races that the No. 1 car got us out of.”
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