NASCAR drivers anonymously name competitors they don’t want near them on restart
NASCAR drivers weighed in on which driver they would least want beside them during a late-race restart. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports asked the question to the 16 drivers who made the playoffs, and four anonymously answered Ross Chastain. Here’s a look at the full results.
1. Ross Chastain (4)
2. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano (3)
3. Austin Dillon, Carson Hocevar, Kyle Larson (2)
Pockrass mentioned that he considered splitting the question into two with one asking the least wanting beside them because they are so good, and then another least wanting beside them because they are questionable. It’s not a big surprise to see Chastain on top of the list because he’s known for being an aggressive driver. An example of Chastain’s aggressive driving took place in November 2022 when he rode the wall during the Martinsville race in the playoffs to clinch a spot in the Championship 4.
“We weren’t doing burnouts in the front stretch, partly because my car wouldn’t even do burnouts, if I tried, it was destroyed,” Chastain told PopCulture.com at the time. “But I was in the car and I don’t really have any interest in doing that again. It was a rough ride. There was a lot happening inside the car. It was violent and that was at our slowest and shortest track.
More on the NASCAR playoff drivers
“I really couldn’t imagine doing it on purpose anywhere else. So no, no plans, no plans for Phoenix and I didn’t practice it before then. When I say I did it on a video game, I’m talking when I was 12 years old, way back, before I ever even raced at the local level, my very first real race in a race car. So no, it goes against everything that you know as a driver and glad it worked out but I still don’t really know why.”
Of the six drivers named, three are in the playoffs. Hamlin, Logano, and Larson will compete for the Cup Series title starting on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Larson sits atop of the playoff standings as he’s the only driver to win four races during the regular season. Hamlin has won three races this year but only two counted toward his playoff eligibility due to a penalty he and his team received from NASCAR in August. Logano is looking to win his third title after winning it all in 2018 and 2022.
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