Chastain plays spoiler at Kansas

Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet surged to life in the second half of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, outpacing William Byron in a fiercely competitive opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12.

After a late restart on Lap 248 at Kansas Speedway, Chastain seized the lead from Martin Truex Jr. and held off a determined Byron by a margin of 0.388 seconds, blocking the playoff contender’s chance for automatic advancement to the Round of 8. This win marked Chastain’s first victory of the season, his debut triumph at Kansas, and the fifth win of his career—particularly satisfying as he did not qualify for the postseason.

Although Byron led 24 laps, he couldn’t match Chastain’s aerodynamic edge in the final stretch. Truex finished third, surrendering the top two spots to Chastain and Byron after restarting in the high lane. Defending champion Ryan Blaney made a strong recovery from an unscheduled pit stop caused by a loose wheel, managing to finish fourth.

Ty Gibbs, recently eliminated from the playoffs after Bristol, secured a solid fifth-place finish, followed by playoff drivers Alex Bowman, pole-sitter Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott. Elliott, who had to start from the back due to an engine change in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, fought hard to finish in the top 10.

With the next race at Talladega Superspeedway looming, Byron remains the points leader, holding a six-point advantage over both Bell and Blaney. Tyler Reddick sits 34 points behind Byron, just below the cut-off line for the next round. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Bowman are fifth and sixth in the standings, sitting 11 and eight points above the elimination threshold.

For Kyle Larson, Sunday’s race was a frustrating déjà vu. After slamming into the Turn 2 wall early in the race—similar to his mishap in Atlanta—Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet suffered a right-rear tire issue just 19 laps in. Despite a vibration that dropped him a lap down by the end of Stage 1, Larson managed to claw back some ground after Daniel Hemric’s spin on Lap 143, finishing the race in 26th place. He now sits fourth in the standings, 18 points above the cut line.

Reddick, Daniel Suárez, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric didn’t fare as well. Defending Kansas race winner Reddick could only muster a 25th-place finish, leaving him four points shy of the cutoff. Suárez crossed the line in 14th, trailing Elliott and Joey Logano, who are tied for eighth, by 14 points. Briscoe, dealing with a tough-handling car, ended up 24th, 25 points below the elimination line. Cindric, hindered by damage from a Lap 157 spin, finished 34th, four laps down, and now lags 29 points behind Elliott and Logano.

Kyle Busch, chasing his first win of the season to maintain a 19-year streak, briefly led on Lap 226. However, an attempt to lap Briscoe through a tight gap caused Busch to lose control and spin, resulting in the ninth caution of the day.

The race set a record with 30 lead changes among 15 drivers. Bell led a race-high 122 laps, while Byron and Bowman took the wins in Stages 1 and 2, respectively.

The Round of 12 continues next Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.