Ross Chastain’s bold, last-lap gamble at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval may have ended his playoff hopes, but it also sparked fresh scrutiny over possible manufacturer team cooperation in the closing laps.
In a desperate bid to earn one more point, which would have been just enough to advance into the Round of 8, Chastain made a dive-bomb move on Denny Hamlin in the final chicane. The attempt backfired, spinning both drivers and handing the last transfer spot to Joey Logano instead.
But what unfolded in those final laps appeared to go deeper than a single on-track move. Moments before the contact, both Cole Custer (running behind Logano) and Alex Bowman (running behind Chastain) were told over the radio to “conserve tires.” In playoff terms, such coded instructions among drivers representing the same manufacturer often raise eyebrows about whether teams are subtly helping an allied playoff car.
NASCAR investigated, reviewing both radio traffic and video from the final laps. Officials determined no formal rule was broken, though the behavior came very close to what the sanctioning body considers race manipulation.
“If you talk about points and then have some actions that are questionable, you’re going to be in hot water,” said Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of communications. Amanda Ellis, also of NASCAR, added, “It’s not a message of ‘You can’t talk about points.’ It’s a message that if you’re talking about points, it should be about your car, not others that are in play.”
With the next playoff elimination race set for Martinsville Speedway, the site of last year’s high-profile manipulation penalties, NASCAR plans to remind teams not to cross that line again. “At a certain point during this week, we will just remind teams, ‘Let’s not put yourselves or ourselves in jeopardy here,’” Forde explained. “Fans should be coming to the race track expecting a straight-up race where each position is fought for as hard as possible.”
Photo Credit – Jett White / TrackHopper