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Ross Chastain took first in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday.
The win marked Chastain’s first on the NASCAR Cup Series, although he had been knocking on the door of that title for three weeks after finishing third in Las Vegas, and second in Phoenix and Atlanta before taking home the title in Austin.
Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five. Full results can be found on NASCAR.com.
This was a fight to the finish with Chastain, Bowman and AJ Allmendinger all fighting for the lead.
Allmendinger bumped Chastain out of the way for a brief edge on the last lap, but Chastain got the last laugh with a bump back that sent Allmendinger spinning. That’s all Chastain needed as he coasted to the finish line.
Chastain spoke post-race about the finish:
It was a disappointing finish for Allmendinger, who was looking for his third NASCAR Cup Series win. Still, he put forth a valiant effort on Sunday:
This was a unique setting for a NASCAR Cup Series event, to say the least, with the organization making its way to Circuit of the Americas for its second-ever race. Chase Elliott won the inaugural EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in 2021.
NASCAR.com provided more information on the track:
Circuit of the Americas opened in 2012, and has been the host of the United States Grand Prix for the last nine years. The course features 20 turns and over 130 feet of elevation changes throughout the course, with each corner designed to resemble sections of famous tracks around the world.”
This was a different kind of race, with sights you don’t see every week on the NASCAR Cup Series:
NASCAR drivers raced 231.88 miles over 68 laps. Stage 1 consisted of the first 15 laps, Stage 2 contained the next 15 laps and the final stage had the final 38 laps.
Daniel Suarez won the first stage:
The second stage wasn’t nearly as kind to Suarez, who needed to replace a tire:
Denny Hamlin took the second stage.
More chaos then characterized the third stage. Austin Cindric had some troubles with this spinout:
This stage also nearly featured a complete disaster that ultimately didn’t feature too much damage:
Joey Logano spun out for the third time:
A crash near the end led to a restart, which began with Tyler Reddick out front:
Chastain was behind Reddick on the restart but soared back into the lead:
He lost it momentarily near the end but pushed his way back to the front to complete a four-race stretch where he’s finished in the top three each time.
NASCAR will now head to Richmond, Virginia, which will host the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
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