Ross Chastain has recently come under a lot of criticism from a number of Cup Series drivers.
The Trackhouse Racing’s No. 1 Chevrolet driver has made a name for himself for his aggressive driving style. And many times, he finds himself on the receiving end of criticism from fellow Cup drivers. In fact, Denny Hamlin was not happy with just verbal criticism and decided to retaliate against him by intentionally wrecking him at Phoenix Raceway earlier this season.
Chastain again got in the limelight last weekend when he initiated a wreck that collected Kyle Larson. This led to Larson calling Chastain a “f ***ing idiot”.
“What a f____ idiot.” – Frustrated Kyle Larson blast Ross Chastain at Dover
Speaking about Chastain’s driving style, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tried to give an explanation by liking his style to his past. Dale Jr. said on his podcast “The Dale Jr Download”:
“I think that he [Chastain] genuinely does have remorse for what happened because he used to drive for those teams, not that specific team maybe but like he used to drive those types of cars. He used to show up and hustle it in in those back marker cars.”
While Chastain might get on the nerves of the Cup drivers, Dale Jr. thinks that his aggressive style makes the Cup races more entertaining. He added that he doesn’t want Chastain to change his ways.
“The other thing I got to say is I don’t want Ross to change. I’m not saying I love what he’s doing, I don’t love him wrecking people out and doing and making mistakes but gosh if somebody’s not doing the things that Ross is doing, God can we get a few more of those guys? Can we get some more people out there making mistakes? It’s a great race, I enjoyed the Dover race but you know that moment with Ross was very entertaining.”
This comment will come as a surprise for Hamlin, who has a good relationship with Earnhardt Jr. It will be interesting to hear what Hamlin has to say about that.