Entering New Hampshire, Ross Chastain was still a longshot in the battle to make the 2027 NASCAR Cup Chase, but his chances are now officially over.
Just 41 laps into the race, Chastain took his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet behind the wall, and his day was over. Chastain finished 36th (last), scoring just one point. It was also Chastain’s first last-place finish of the 2026 season.
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So, what went wrong? While running 11th, Chastain began to slow and smoke billowed out of the right-front in the corners.
“There was an issue internally in the engine,” explained Chastain after climbing out of the car. “There was oil coming out of the exhaust pipe. I felt the No. 1 Kubota Chevy losing power and just rode it out during the caution, but unfortunately, we couldn’t continue. It’s just an unfortunate end to our run towards the Chase. The speed has gotten better, so we’ll hopefully keep moving forward on that. That’s the important part. With the things in our control, we were able to make them better through the summer. I’ve learned that’s really tough to do in the NASCAR Cup Series. We did get better, but we’ve got a ways to go.”
Chastain has made the Chase/playoffs in three of the last five seasons, placing as high as second in the 2022 championship.
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The last time Chastain failed to make the top 16 was in 2024, and he went on to win one of the final ten races at Kansas Speedway. He is currently facing a 49-race winless streak that dates back to the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600 in May of 2025.
Trackhouse still has one shot of making the Chase via Shane van Gisbergen, who sits on the bubble entering the Daytona cutoff race with a 31-point cushion.
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