Chastain on Saturday’s Race at COTA: “It means a lot to run for Al [Niece] at his home track. Our team is known to bring really fast race trucks and we sure had one today. So, I’m proud to do that here in Austin with our Worldwide Express team even though we’re a little disappointed, but we have to be proud of how fast we were,” Chastain said.
A quick-time for Ross Chastain on Friday would put the Florida driver on pole for the XPEL 225 at Circuit of the Americas. From his front-row starting position, Chastain would lead a majority of the first stage after battling with Christian Eckes in the early laps.
A caution late in the first stage would bring the No. 41 Silverado down pit road for the first time for a routine pit stop. Although a handful of the leaders remained on the track under this caution, Chastain would make easy work of them to finish 6th in Stage One.
As the race progressed, a fuel cell issue would be the cause of a lengthy pit stop which would restart Chastain in 28th for the final stage. But, the NASCAR Cup Series driver would use his experience at COTA to weave through the field to salvage a fifth place finish, the second in as many weeks for the No. 41 team.
Niece Motorsports PR