Ross Chastain makes clear demand to NASCAR after All-Star Heat Race

Ross Chastain finished second in Sunday’s All-Star Heat Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Visibly happy with his qualifying run, the Chevy star stated that it was all due to the increased practice time.

As per reports, NASCAR’s usual practice sessions continue for 25 minutes, with the only exceptions being the first and the last race of the season, where the drivers are allowed a 50-minute practice session. For many drivers like Chastain, 25 minutes is not enough.

But that wasn’t the case at North Wilkesboro. NASCAR gave the drivers 45 minutes to practice. Reflecting on the same during a recent interview, the Trackhouse Racing icon said (as quoted by Speedway Digest),

“These longer practices really seem to help us, so I'm all for practice. When it comes to the Cup Series, I think we need to be on track so we're able to make our cars better. It was a heck of an effort. To pass cars, that was a lot of fun."

Ross Chastain is in his fifth season in the NASCAR Cup Series and ninth driving for Trackhouse. He sits 11th in the driver standings with two top-fives, six top-10s, and 300 points to his name.

The All-Star Race is an exhibition-style event, meaning winning it won’t matter from a championship perspective. But the winner will take home a million-dollar check and then some momentum for their upcoming points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Fans can watch this year’s All-Star Race on Fox Sports 1 (8 pm ET onwards) or listen to its live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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NASCAR Hall of Famer lauds Ross Chastain for his exceptional blocking skills

Recently on Dale Jr. Download, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflected on Ross Chastain’s blocking maneuver against the Toyotas during the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. According to the NASCAR veteran, Chastain is one of the best at it.

With the advent of the NextGen car, aero blocking has become a necessity for drivers. Winning a race based on speed alone seems like a myth nowadays.

“Defense is now, maybe the most important strategy,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained (35:14). “That’s interesting, it’s entertaining.…Ross (Chastain) is the best at it; one of the best defenders.”

"He goes, he sees that he tries in the corner, in the middle of the corner, looks in the mirror… you won’t go low, I’ll go low. He drives down in front of him, and they just can’t finish the throttle. And so it’s an art. It’s fun to watch somebody, you know, defend and block and take air away,” he added with admiration in his voice.

Ross Chastain pulled off something similar during the 2023 Championship 4 race, where he held off Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney for the win. However, Blaney was crowned the series champion as Chastain didn’t make it to the Round of 8.