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Ross Chastain Holds Off William Byron for 1st Win of 2024

Ross Chastain‘s 2024 season hasn’t gone the way many expected, but the Alva, Fla., native broke through for his first win of 2024 at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday. (Sept. 29).

A fantastic restart on the inside lane with 20 laps to go shot Chastain to the lead ahead of Martin Truex Jr., who was the race leader when the field entered the GEICO restart zone. With William Byron chasing him down in the closing laps, Chastain nursed his lead, holding off Byron to score the victory.

Byron, Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs completed the top-five. Alex Bowman was sixth, followed by Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Zane Smith rounding out the top 10.

It didn’t take long for the action to heat up, as Ty Dillon and Josh Berry spun around on lap 1. Harrison Burton and Jimmie Johnson were also involved in the backstretch scuffle, with Elliott incurring damage on the right rear of the No. 9 Chevrolet. Berry was the only driver involved in the incident who was knocked out of the race.

As Bell took control of the race lead on the ensuing restart, Elliott began to make his way through the pack, advancing up to 24th on lap 19. Fellow playoff driver Chase Briscoe went the opposite direction, however, losing 17 positions from the drop of the green flag to the race’s second yellow on lap 19.

On lap 19, Kyle Larson lost his right rear tire, sending the No. 5 into a half-spin that sent him into the wall. While the hit damaged Larson’s Camaro, he was able to continue.

The field decided to pit for tires and fuel during the caution period, with a two-tire call from Adam Stevens allowing Bell to win the race off pit road. Despite an aggressive three-wide move by Joey Logano on the restart, Bell held on to the race lead.

Handling issues plagued Larson throughout the rest of stage one, as Bell lapped the 2021 champion on lap 57.

With Byron bearing down on Bell, a rare mistake from the driver of the No. 20 forced Bell into wall and back to fifth-place, handing the race lead and eventual stage win to Byron.

Logano’s No. 22 team got him off pit road first during the round of yellow flag pit stops. A loose wheel forced Austin Cindric to come down pit road a second time, relegating him to the back of the field for the restart.

Byron snagged the lead on the restart, with Logano and Gibbs taking the second and third-place spots.

Erik Jones brought out the fourth caution flag of the day on lap 98, as the No. 43 got loose off of turn four before spinning into the infield. A two-tire stop by Kyle Busch granted the two-time champion the race lead off of pit road. A slow pit stop from Hamlin knocked the veteran driver outside of the top-10 for the restart.

Bell took the lead from Busch on lap 108, with Logano following Bell to second. As the run progressed, Logano fell into the clutches of Blaney, who passed him for second on lap 138.

With long-run speed underneath him, Blaney passed Bell for the lead on lap 140. The 2023 champion wouldn’t have much time to enjoy his lead, however, as a caution for Daniel Hemric spinning on the exit of turn 2 brought out the yellow on lap 145. The caution flag granted Larson the free pass, putting the No. 5 back on the lead lap.

Another gutsy two-tire call – this one by the No. 71 team of Smith – helped Smith win the race off of pit road, with Bell being the first car off pit road with four tires.

Fearing a loose wheel, Hamlin was forced to give up his top 10 running position to tighten a lug nut. The decision mired the No. 11 deep in the pack on the ensuing restart.

As Smith and Bell fought for the lead on lap 150, Justin Haley and John Hunter Nemechek went around on the backstretch, once more bringing out the caution flag.

Bell held the lead on the ensuing restart, with Bowman taking the second position from Smith. Elliott moved into the top 10 on the restart, continuing his climb through the field.

On lap 158, Cindric went around after contact with Busch on the backstretch, sending the No. 2 spinning softly into the inside wall of turn 3.

12 drivers opted to stay out during the caution flag period, with Truex leading the cars that decided to pit. Another playoff driver was bitten by a loose wheel, with Logano having to pit a second time.

The final four laps of stage two were extremely chaotic. Bell once more made contact with the wall, ending his hopes of earning stage points. Bowman won the stage, with Blaney, Byron, Elliott and Briscoe being the other drivers who earned points in the stage.

The drivers that pitted before the stage were able to stay out and take advantage of the track position. Carson Hocevar assumed the lead over Gibbs on lap 173, but a strong run from Chastain pushed the No. 1 to the lead on lap 178.

Another loose wheel forced Blaney to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop with 76 laps to go. The No. 12 was put a lap down by Chastain due to the unscheduled stop.

After a tense side-by-side battle, Busch took the lead with 63 laps to go.

Logano was the first car to start the cycle of green flag pit stops from 19th, coming down pit road for four fresh tires and adjustments to a loose Ford Mustang. Gibbs – who pitted earlier than the rest of the field – came down pit road with 59 laps to go, with Chris Buescher following suit.

With 57 laps remaining, Truex Jr. became the first front runner to come down pit road. Bowman, Smith, Byron, Suarez and Hamlin all came down with Truex, with Busch and Chastain pitting the following lap. The strategy enabled Truex to get to the back bumper of Chastain, though he was still stuck behind both Busch and Chastain.

Reddick became the first car of those running the sequence long to come down pit road, pitting with 50 laps to go. Bell followed his Toyota teammate down pit road, as did Bubba Wallace.

With 43 laps to go, a slip-up by Busch on the exit of turn 4 enabled Chastain to get around the No. 8. However, Busch took the lead right back on the next lap, pulling away slightly over the next few laps.

As Busch tried to maneuver around the No. 14 of Briscoe with 32 laps to go, Busch hit the wall on the exit of turn 2. As Busch came off the wall, his Camaro broke loose, sending him spinning and handing the lead back to Chastain.

An 8.8 second pit stop by Truex Jr.’s No. 19 crew gave Truex the lead off of pit road, with Chastain coming out second.

Brad Keselowski chose not to pit under the caution flag, and was quickly eaten up by the field on the restart. As the field scattered behind him, Truex Jr. pulled away with the race lead.

With 25 laps to go, contact from Todd Gililand sent Hocevar spinning on the backstretch, bringing out the 10th caution of the afternoon.

A fantastic restart for Chastain pushed the No. 1 back to the lead with 20 laps to go, with Byron getting around Truex Jr. for second. Bowman ended up being a big loser on the restart, going from third to sixth in just one lap.

Hollywood Casino 400 Results

The second race of the Round of 12 will see the Cup Series head to Talladega Superspeedway. The YellaWood 500 will go green shortly after 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 6. NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) will provide coverage of the race.

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