Desperation for Chastain on final lap at the Roval<\/p>\n
With a spot in the Round of 8 on the line, Ross Chastain gave Denny Hamlin all he had coming to the line but ultimately ends up crossing the finish backwards on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I can go to bed knowing that they\u2019re building me to be the best I can be, but I\u2019ve got to make those right decisions in those moments where I\u2019m not on autopilot. It\u2019s terrible to get to this level and not perform. When you watch and you learn and you study for half your life to get here and to fail is a terrible feeling right now, and I will wake up tomorrow and go right back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining Logano in advancing to the Round of 8 are Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Larson, Bell, William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott. The third round, which will determine the Championship 4 field, will begin Sunday, Oct. 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n
Chastain had overcome a massive blunder after his stop under the Stage 1 caution, missing the left turn exiting the pits. He lost 15 spots while stopping his No. 1 Chevrolet and backing up to blend into traffic. The mistake blunted a strong start by Chastain, who finished fifth in Stage 1 and put pressure on Logano.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The Trackhouse Racing driver won his fifth consecutive Cup race on a road or street course.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I had more room and just was trying to get to the yellow line and just completely started the downfall there,\u201d Chastain said of his mistake in the pits. \u201cThen I came off out of the pit stall and double-clicked up into third (gear). Just unforced errors. Just terrible. So it\u2019s heartbreaking for almost 200 employees at Trackhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n For the second consecutive season, Logano narrowly averted being eliminated at the Round of 12. But unlike last year (when he was put back in third round after Alex Bowman was disqualified), the three-time Cup Series champion earned it on the track on a gutsy pit call by crew chief Paul Wolfe, who called Logano to the pits on Lap 98.<\/p>\n Logano went two points above the cutline to four spots below the cutline on the pit stop, but he was able to gain four spots on fresh tires while Chastain began slipping on older tires.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n