Bubba Wallace Chases Down Exhausted Ross Chastain as Trackhouse

he Olympic break is wrapping up, and racing action is set to roar back to life at the iconic Richmond Raceway. With only four races left in the regular season—Richmond, Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington—the stakes couldn’t be higher. The race for the final playoff spots is heating up, with Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace battling fiercely for that crucial 16th place.

For Ross Chastain and the #1 team, this season has been a tough ride. Winless so far and struggling with consistency, Chastain has only managed 2 top-five and 7 top-ten finishes. His recent performances have been particularly disappointing, with him finishing 33rd, 22nd, and 36th at the Tricky Triangle, and 15th at the Brickyard. This isn’t the Ross Chastain we’ve come to expect.

Since joining Trackhouse Racing in 2022, Chastain led the relatively new team to the Championship 4 at Phoenix, marking their best season to date. Last year, he managed to score two victories. But this season has been a different story, and fans are eager to see if he can turn things around in these final races.

On the other hand, his teammate Daniel Suarez has managed to get a win in Atlanta, securing at least one spot for the team. Adding to the success of his teammate, if Chastain sees in his rearview mirror, he’ll see a fast-approaching 23XI driver, Bubba Wallace.

According to a recent analysis by Eric Estepp, Ross Chastain has dropped his average finish position in the last four races, whereas Bubba has gained it in the same time frame. This gives us a clear picture. Estepp said; “Like Ross Chastain has an average finish of 26.5 in the last four races, Bubba in that same span has an average finish of 8.7, 18 positions better that’s why Bubba Wallace has closed the Gap. He was 60 points back or something like not that long ago.”

The 23XI driver is known to have a wonderful comeback story at a crucial time of the series. As we know, stats don’t lie; although Wallace too is going winless, he’s got better consistency than Chastain. He has four top-5 finishes and eight top-10s. What’s crucial is that he’s riding on a high note, as in his last four races he finished 7th, 13th, and 10th in Pocono and 5th on the iconic Brickyard.

Unrelated to the NASCAR Cup series, Bubba Wallace also got a P2 in a Legends race, putting him on cloud nine, and increasing problems for the track house team. What is crucial to note here is that Chastain has dropped several places in the last few races.

If we look at the current standings in the playoff scenario. Chastain is +7 points in the 16th position, barely above the cutoff line. On the other hand, Bubba Wallace is -7 in the 17th position, inches away from overtaking Chastain and taking the final spot in the