Ross Chastain makes HUGE confession after major criticism

NASCAR star Ross Chastain has apologized for a mistake he made at the Circuit of the Americas, with which he seriously damaged a rival driver's race.

Chastain fired the #1 car recklessly up the inside at the very first corner of the race, kicking Chase Elliott into a spin and sending him right to the back of the field.

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The Trackhouse Racing driver also ended up way back in the pack, and the pair had to fight back through the field to secure respectable finishes – with Chastain finishing 12th and Elliott running all the way up to fourth.

Elliott admitted after the race that despite his excellent finish, he felt that the crash damaged his car, claiming it 'never drove like it did on Saturday' after the heavy first corner contact.

Why did Ross Chastain let Chase Elliott pass him?

Speaking in Phoenix for the next race of the 2025 Cup Series, Chastain said: “It was an error. When I went inside (Larson), I thought we were slow enough from the restart zone and that was not the case.

"I get to live with that, but from the outside, it doesn’t look good. The intention was...it was an error, a big error, to go bottom of five (wide). That was not necessary.”

The #1 car driver gave Elliott a wide berth when the car he hit tried to pass him later in the race, explaining: “Well, when he was spun, I would have swapped spots for them if I could’ve, because I had instantly hurt his day, and I just sat there like wishing it was the opposite and not trying to do any more damage, trying to get left as the whole field went by, it seemed like.

"But I just owed him that and more to let him have that spot. It’s one thing I have learned is it’s been done for me when I’ve been on the other side of it, and I’ve been on the receiving end earlier than those guys. Different guys in the series have shown me courtesy when I’m faster, when it’s really easy to air-block anymore...I felt like I owed him that and more, because I instantly, effectively killed their day.”

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