Ross Chastain made plenty of late-race moves in the 2024 Daytona 500. His last move didn't end very well for himself or Austin Cindric.
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Chastain tried to push his way past eventual winner William Byron. He saw a hole and shot a gap between Byron and Cindric only to make contact with Cindric's No. 2 Ford.
Then again, Cindric got a bad push from behind at the same moment by Corey Lajoie that sent him spinning.
Chastain ended the night with a 21st-place finish, and he even admitted in a postrace interview that he was being quite aggressive. Then again, he won't apologize for making the move to try and win the Daytona 500.
"I took the gap, and I don't apologize for that," Chastain told On3. "I can go to sleep tonight knowing that I took the white flag, making the move to win the Daytona 500. Four years ago, it was with eight laps to go or something. I've got it down to one lap to go. Yeah, too aggressive, though, when you don't finish.
Chastain's boss, Justin Marks, stood by his driver and how things shook out at the end of the race. While speaking with NASCAR.com, Marks was proud of the effort by 31-year-old driver of the No. 1 Busch Light Chevy for Trackhouse Racing.
"I mean, I love Ross Chastain and he's got a lot of fight," Marks said. "We had a really fast car here, and the Busch Light people are super-excited to watch their car lead the race. We have a big history in front of us in this sport and a lot to accomplish. I'm not getting too low right now, I'm just really proud of the effort that he put in, the effort that the team put in. You know, 10 times out of 10, I want a guy that goes for it."
In the end, it wasn't Chastain's to win, but he certainly doesn't have anything to be sorry about.
