Ross Chastain has wanted to win a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event with JR Motorsports for a long, long time, and finally, thanks in part to Mother Nature, the Alva, Florida-native has done just that.
“I first watched a [JR Motorsports] car drive by me here at Charlotte in 2014, I was on the apron in practice, and one drove by, and I decided right then that I wanted to be in one,” Chastain told The CW. “It took me until 2025 to get in one, so that’s a testament to just continuing to work; I’ve asked and couldn’t raise the funds, I had the funds, and there wasn’t room at the inn, so for David Erickson to go to work and get me in this car, through all the relationships with JRM and Chevrolet.”
Chastain was declared the official winner of the Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 91 of 200 laps complete, when a combination of heavy mist and a rapidly lowering ceiling made visibility almost impossible for drivers and spotters, making it too dangerous to continue.
The NASCAR Cup Series regular was declared the winner of the Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after 91 of 200 laps were complete. A combination of heavy mist and a rapidly lowering ceiling made visibility almost impossible for drivers and spotters, making it too dangerous to continue.
NASCAR was forced to run the final 18 laps of the event under the caution flag, after Dawson Cram laid down a blanket of fluid in Turns 1 and 2, which, when the leaders hit, sent several cars hard into the outside wall. Once the cleanup was complete, the mist hit the track and made it impossible for the sanctioning body to regain control of the race.
“I didn’t think we would win one like this, driving into the fence in liquid — I don’t know what it was, but I drove off into Turn 1 like normal, and there was something on the track,” Chastain said.
Jesse Love and Austin Hill, both racing with heavy hearts after the passing of their Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch on Thursday, finished the race in second and third place. Both RCR drivers paced the field for a short period of time, but were unable to get the lead when it counted.
William Sawalich finished in fourth place, with NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series rookie Corey Day rounding out the top-five. Connor Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Cole Custer, Carson Kvapil, and Rajah Caruth all earned top-10s.
Justin Allgaier was in contention for the victory all evening long, but smacked the wall hard in the Lap 73 caution for Dawson Cram, and was forced to hit pit road, leaving him to finish 29th. Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray also lost potential top-10 runs because of that outside wall contact.
There were two significant wrecks during the 91-lap event on Saturday, the first coming at Lap 51 when contact between Sheldon Creed and Brandon Jones sent the No. 20 spinning into Brent Crews, and eventually, sent both back up the racetrack into the path of Harrison Burton.
Sam Mayer also had a big impact at Lap 61, when his Charbroil Chevrolet got loose in the middle of Turn 2, and then snapped HARD into the outside wall.
Leaving Charlotte, Justin Allgaier continues to hold the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series points lead by 145 markers over Jesse Love. Corey Day jumps to third in points, with Sheldon Creed and Brandon Jones rounding out the top-five.
Next, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to Nashville Superspeedway for the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 on May 30. Coverage of the event will begin at 7:30 PM ET on The CW.
Photo: Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images
