The trouble unfolded on lap 217 restart when the field charged back toward Turn 1 and the two drivers converged at a tricky transition on the track. The contact sent Chastain around and triggered a wreck that also swept up Anthony Alfredo and Austin Cindric<\/a>, adding more frustration to what was already a chaotic moment in the race.<\/p>\n Although Chastain managed to keep his car running, the damage and time lost in the aftermath proved costly. By the time the checkered flag waved, he had fallen 25 laps behind the race leader.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Logano initially continued after the incident but unraveled later when he was caught in another crash on lap 254 that left the No. 22 car heavily damaged, but he first refused to take up any ownership<\/a> of the wreck.<\/p>\n In the moments after the first wreck, Logano quickly accepted responsibility,<\/a> first over his team radio and later in a phone call to Chastain to offer an apology, a gesture that seemed to settle any lingering tension between the two.<\/p>\n The early part of the season has also seen the drivers sitting in very different spots in the standings. Chastain finds himself 23rd with 74 points, while Joey Logano<\/a>, a three-time NASCAR Cup champion, holds seventh place with 113 points as the championship picture begins to take shape.<\/p>\n While this stirrup, where Chastain was caught up in a mess, may be the first of its kind, he is usually the one drawing fire for his aggressive racing.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Back in 2023, with the leaders all jockeying for position during the final laps of the Toyota Owners 400 in Richmond, Bell in the No. 20 Toyota Camry tried to move up and out of the middle lane just as Chastain in the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro made a move to power forward into the bottom lane of the track. The maneuver caused Bell\u2019s car to make contact with the rear of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro, piloted by William Byron, spinning him around to bring out the caution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bonsai came in and put us three wide,\u201d Bell said post-race. \u201cThe wrecking ball [Chastain] came in and made us three wide at the last second, and there wasn\u2019t enough room to be three wide.\u201d<\/p>\n Chastain is one driver in the Cup Series who regularly finds himself in hot water with other drivers, including Denny Hamlin, who NASCAR slammed with a $50,000 fine and 25 driver points for publicly admitting on his Actions Detrimental podcast that his retaliatory fencing of Chastain in Phoenix was intentional.<\/p>\n Moving on, as the dust settles on Phoenix Raceway, Chastain is completely unbothered by something else as well.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Ross Chastain offers an unbothered stance on the Chase format<\/p>\n Early in the revamped championship structure of the NASCAR Cup Series,<\/a> Ross Chastain summed up his thoughts in just three blunt words:<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n Image Credits: Imago<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2e68915dfcd558de9412a02d8f250849.jpeg\"\/)
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