Niece Motorsports driver and recent Xfinity Series winner, Ross Chastain came into Thursday night’s race just 10 points out of the top 20. Chastain needed to earn at least 10 more points in order to be playoff eligible and compete for the championship.
With a strong qualifying effort of fifth, Chastain was solid all night long. He never took the lead but had finishes of fifth and second in both stages.
Despite running in an unsponsored truck, Chastain put on a show for the fans. He ran as low as 10th in the final laps of the race. But thanks to pit strategy and a few drivers running out of fuel, Chastain found himself in the top five. Eventually, the Niece Motorsports driver would finish there with a fourth-place outing.
The strong stage efforts and the top five finish was just enough for Chastain and his crew to clinch a spot in the 2019 Truck Series Playoffs. However, even with the great news, the Florida native was somewhat disappointed with the outcome.
“It’s pretty cool to be upset with fourth,” Chastain said to MRN Radio. “Really, really loose all night, just behind from the beginning this weekend. We unloaded really tight and just never been here as a group. So just learning as we go and building a notebook for further down the road, but at the end of the day, it’s really cool to be disappointed with fourth with an unsponsored race truck.”
The fourth place finish earned him his fifth top five of the season and he currently sits second in the playoff standings.
