Ross Chastain celebrated his first watermelon smash of the season on Sunday at Kansas Speedway, marking a significant moment for him.

He also dashed the playoff aspirations of several drivers vying for an automatic spot in the next round.

The seventh-generation watermelon farmer seized the lead from Martin Truex Jr. with 20 laps remaining after a restart and successfully fended off title contender William Byron to secure the victory. This win represents Chastain's first since the season finale at Phoenix last year, where he also played a spoiler role during the NASCAR Cup Series championship event.

“We haven’t gone anywhere. We keep showing up,” Chastain remarked, reflecting on his near miss for playoff qualification. “It’s not easy when you’re failing or struggling at something, and you just can’t get to where you want to get to.”

Truex, who announced his retirement and was eliminated from the playoffs last week, finished third in what is likely his final race at Kansas.

He was in the lead when Carson Hocevar's incident triggered the final caution of a day filled with wrecks. Truex chose the top lane for the restart, while Chastain opted for the bottom, allowing the No. 1 car from Trackhouse Racing to surge ahead.

“It’s pretty deflating when you don’t make the playoffs, and we knew the last couple of races of the regular season, we were right on that cut line,” said Chastain’s crew chief, Phil Surgen. “But there’s no give-up here. We’re not laying down.”

Byron's second-place finish was the highest among the 12 drivers advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Although a win would have secured his spot in the next round with the unpredictable Talladega race approaching, the result elevated the No. 24 car to the top of the playoff points standings.

“You’re so close, and going to Talladega, you know what that is,” Byron stated. “But proud of the effort.”

Ryan Blaney experienced a loose left wheel during the final stage but managed to secure a fourth-place finish, significantly enhancing the defending champion's chances in the postseason. Ty Gibbs took fifth place, followed by several other playoff contenders: Alex Bowman finished sixth, while pole sitter Christopher Bell recovered from a couple of wall encounters to claim seventh. Denny Hamlin salvaged an eighth-place finish despite facing issues on pit road, and Chase Elliott, who started at the back of the field due to an engine change, finished ninth.

“Given the circumstances of starting last and everything that happened yesterday, it could have been much worse,” Elliott remarked. “However, I always feel our car had the potential for a better outcome. We’ll take what we got, but I believe we could have done better.”


Kyle Busch seemed poised to extend his winless streak to 20 seasons with a Cup Series victory when he overtook Chastain with 64 laps remaining. However, after the pit stops, Busch attempted to pass Chase Briscoe, who was battling to remain on the lead lap. This maneuver resulted in Busch hitting the wall and skidding down the backstretch with 30 laps to go.

He ultimately finished 19th, marking 51 races without a win since last year's event in St. Louis.

“I guess I was too eager,” Busch stated. “I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say.”

Kyle Larson had a particularly challenging day. The previous week's winner at Bristol suffered a right rear tire failure just 18 laps into the race, causing him to crash into the wall. Although the damage seemed minimal and his Hendrick Motorsports team continued to make repairs throughout the race, he ended up finishing 26th, just behind fellow playoff competitors Briscoe and Tyler Reddick.

Austin Cindric faced difficulties as well, needing to pit twice at the end of Stage 1 due to a loose wheel. He managed to get back into contention but then experienced a left rear tire failure near the end of Stage 2, resulting in a spin down the backstretch. He finished four laps down in 34th place.

Cindric expressed his disappointment regarding the current situation, stating, “Given our position and the speed we’ve demonstrated in the car, this is simply unacceptable. I’m quite disheartened by it all. The upcoming two weeks present opportunities for us to perform well in the races, but we cannot recover this one. Our objectives for Talladega and the Roval at Charlotte are now more defined.”

In the playoff standings, Blaney and Bell trail Byron by six points, while Larson is ten points behind. Joey Logano occupies the eighth and final playoff position, holding a four-point lead over Reddick and a 14-point advantage over Daniel Suarez. Briscoe and Cindric find themselves in a precarious situation with only two races remaining before the next cutoff.

Carl Edwards returned to Kansas Speedway to serve as the pace car driver, marking his first appearance in the sport in eight years. Although he never secured a Cup Series victory at the track near his hometown of Columbia, Missouri, he did achieve a Truck Series win two decades ago.

“I initially thought it would be a simple ceremonial role as the pace car driver,” Edwards remarked. “However, they brought me in this morning for a lesson, which added more pressure than I anticipated.”

Looking ahead, NASCAR will continue the Cup Series playoffs next Sunday at Talladega, where Blaney triumphed last year, narrowly defeating Kevin Harvick after a last-lap incident involving Elliott, Briscoe, Cindric, and Riley Herbst.