Ross Chastain on issue that left him with last-place finish and ended Chase hopes
Chastain was the first driver to fall out of Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Ross Chastain's race at New Hampshire ended prematurely, marking his last-place finish and effectively ending his chase hopes for the upcoming 2027 NASCAR Cup Chase. Just 41 laps into the race, Chastain, driving the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, was forced to pit. The issue began with smoke emanating from the right-front of his car, indicating an internal engine problem.
Chastain explained, "There was an issue internally in the engine, there was oil coming out of the exhaust pipe. I felt the No. 1 Kubota Chevy losing power and just rode it out during the caution." Despite initial optimism about his car's speed improving during the summer, Chastain admitted, "It’s just an unfortunate end to our run towards the Chase."
Chastain, who has made the Chase/playoffs in three of the last five seasons, including a second-place finish in 2022, has now been 49 races without a win since May 2025's Coca-Cola 600. Trackhouse Racing has a slim chance of securing the Chase through Shane van Gisbergen, who currently sits atop the bubble with a 31-point lead ahead of the Daytona cutoff race.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
