“Cool to be disappointed”: Ross Chastain laments P9 finish at New Hampshire

Ross Chastain was left to rue handling issues during Sunday's(September 21) Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Trackhouse Racing driver outlined a 'long day of adjustments' to gain any momentum.

Chastain had a rather decent start at eighth, but found himself outside the top-10 in both stages. He finished P12 in Stage 1 and P13 in Stage 2. Soon enough, the No.1 team got their handling issues sorted and launched a comeback, finishing one spot below their starting position.

In a post-race interview, Chastain discussed the day's events and said (via Youtube/NASCAR,11:33 onwards),

"We started the race just way too tight coming out of the Goodyear tire test here. We tried to shore up the entry and exit, and thought we could still make it turn in the center and that just wasn't the case. So, long day of adjustments for the one boys at Kubota Chevy, and with Phil Surgeon to get some wedge out of it and get it turning."

"And then I just had to keep dealing with the exit because we never had good forward drive like we thought we would. So, when we were too tight, we went backwards. And when we had it turning better, I magically went forward. So, yeah, I just took us too long to get any stage points, but, cool to be disappointed with ninth," he added.

The result marks Ross Chastain's first top-10 finish in the playoffs. Chastain came close to the feat at Darlington, but settled for 11th. His Gateway race was a step back in terms of performance, as he finished 24th after a sixth-place start.

The last round at Bristol Motor Speedway wasn't any better. The 32-year-old finished a lap down in 19th. He currently ranks ninth in the playoff standings, with 12 points below the playoff cutline.

However, the next race at Kansas Speedway would be favourable for the Trackhouse driver, seeing how he's already won at the track before.

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Ross Chastain shares his goal for Kansas race

Ross Chastain had a mid-pack finish in his last outing at Kansas Speedway. However, the No.1 driver earned the checkered flag during last year's playoff race at the same venue.

When questioned about his expectations for the upcoming Kansas race, Chastain replied (via aforementioned source, 12:21 onwards),

"Go win. Smashed watermelon there last year"

The Coca-Cola 600 remains Ross Chastain's sole win this season. He's the only Trackhouse driver continuing the team's title bid. Shane Van Gisbergen got eliminated in the Round of 16 after a streak of backmarker finishes.

Nonetheless, the Charlotte Roval will be a strong suit for the Kiwi driver, while Chastain hopes to learn from him and possibly win the race as well.