Chastain lost a chance at his first Cup win of the 2023 season at the end of the 14 May race at Darlington.
Larson squeezed Chastain into the wall on a restart with 13 laps remaining as he tried to hold on to his lead. On the next restart, Chastain attempted a similar move to try and halt Larson’s advance, but this time both cars were wrecked.
Chastain received plenty of criticism in the aftermath of the clash, particularly from Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon and Larson’s team owner Rick Hendrick.
In the days after, Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing co-owner Justin Marks also had a meeting with him to discuss how to avoid similar incidents in the future. At the time, Chastain described the advice as “stop hitting things”.
In the three races since Darlington, Chastain has finished no higher than 10th and dropped from first to third in the series standings.
The 30-year-old says his desire to win is unaffected, but admitted he has “definitely learned from Darlington”.
“Whatever I can do to wreck less and win more will definitely be top in my mind and my priority,” Chastain said.
“I take what people say to heart, especially my boss, my owner, the guy that hired me and guides me. He’s a racer himself and we talk as racers and buddies just as much as we talk as owner and driver.
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Rusty Jones / NKP / Motorsport Images
“People can think what they want. I know what our path is, has been and is currently and what we’re planning. I’m totally comfortable in the spot we’re in.”
Even without a win year this season, Chastain has been the most consistent driver at Trackhouse so far. He’s led 348 laps, has one runner-up finish at Dover and a pair of thirds.
Chastain isn’t in danger of missing the Cup playoffs at present, but he and his team would welcome the certainty one or more victories would provide before the conclusion of the regular season.
“The more points the better,” Chastain said.
“But we want to win, that’s the focus. That’s the goal. That’s the objective and that’s where our sights our set.”