Ross Chastain hadn’t smashed a watermelon in nearly a year, but on Sunday night, that all changed.
In a move that could only be described as “vintage Chastain,” he yanked the lead from Martin Truex Jr. on a restart with just 20 laps to go. And as if he’d been holding back all season, Chastain held off a charging William Byron to score his first victory since Phoenix last year. Sure, Chastain isn’t in the Playoffs, but that didn’t stop him from playing spoiler—because let’s be honest, that’s what he does best.
“For us on this 1 team, it’s what Cup racing is all about,” Chastain said. “It’s what Justin Marks bought into Trackhouse with Pitbull, bought into NASCAR with Trackhouse to do stuff like this, to disrupt.”
Disrupt? That’s an understatement. As is tradition, the Florida watermelon farmer celebrated by obliterating a melon on the start-finish line—splattering it across Kansas asphalt like a NASCAR-themed Gallagher show.
William Byron was a mere .388 seconds behind Chastain at the checkered flag and snagged a Stage 1 win earlier in the race. However, clean air, as Byron lamented, made all the difference.
“Damn it, I wanted that one really bad. It just sucks, man,” Byron said. “You’re so close, and then you realize you’re going to Talladega next, and well… you know how that goes. But I’m proud of the effort.”
Truex settled for third, followed by Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs. As for Chastain, it was all smiles and watermelon juice. Kyle Busch, on the other hand, was… well, not smiling.
Busch, who’s been having a season only a therapist could unravel, briefly saw a glimpse of hope. He took the lead on lap 205 after a round of green-flag stops. But, naturally, things unraveled again on lap 235. Playoff underdog Chase Briscoe, in a desperate bid to salvage his day, tried to give Busch some room coming out of Turn 1. But by Turn 2, it was all over. Briscoe seemed to close the door, and Busch spun out of the lead—finishing 19th and about as thrilled as a driver without power steering.
“I guess I just got in too big a hurry…” Busch muttered on TV. “I’m numb. I don’t know what to do.”
Briscoe didn’t fare much better, finishing 24th. “I hate it for him,” Briscoe said. “I’m a Kyle Busch fan, and I didn’t want to be part of this conversation.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Larson went from hero to zero faster than you can say “flat tire.” After dominating Bristol last week and winning in Kansas earlier this year, Larson’s race fell apart on lap 7. A right-rear tire failure sent him into the outside wall. Unlike his Atlanta disaster a few weeks ago, Larson’s car didn’t call it quits entirely, but it may as well have. He limped to a 26th-place finish, his crew throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the car.
“It is what it is,” Larson said. “But we’ll regroup and move on to Talladega.”
Tyler Reddick had a similarly miserable day, dragging his car—which seemed to be turned into a glorified golf cart—across the line in 25th. Austin Cindric? Flat tire, 34th, four laps down. A miserable Sunday for him.
But Alex Bowman gave his fans a little hope, finishing 6th and winning Stage 2. And then there was Christopher Bell, who led a race-high 122 laps before his day went sideways—literally. After a caution on lap 157, Bell got into the wall and handed the Stage 2 win to Bowman. Bell would recover, but only enough for a 7th-place finish.
Denny Hamlin was 8th, quietly lurking in the top 10, while Chase Elliott managed 9th. And Zane Smith, who seems to have a habit of making people set up and take notice, wrapped up the top 10.
As for the final laps, Busch’s spin on lap 235 brought everyone to pit road, where Truex emerged with the lead—redemption, after last week’s pit road speeding penalty cost him his Playoff hopes. He looked poised to win it all until Carson Hocevar was tapped by Todd Gilliland and sent spinning, throwing the race into one last chaotic restart.
Chastain seized the moment, grabbing the lead and, moments later, smashing his victory watermelon on the finish line, as the Kansas sun set on a truly wild race.
“I mean, there’s been times this year where we couldn’t have disrupted a kiddie pool, let alone a Cup race,” Chastain said. “But it’s tough. Really tough.”
Now, all eyes turn to Talladega next week, where Blaney, the defending winner, hopes to repeat last year’s magic. Meanwhile, Reddick—who’s currently 4 points below the cut line—will need either a win or a much better showing than what he produced here. Daniel Suarez sits 14 points below the cutoff, Briscoe is 25 back, and Cindric is trailing by 29. They’ll all need a miracle at Talladega, or they’ll be sent packing.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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