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Ross Chastain crew chief fined by NASCAR after Craftsman Truck Race at Pocono

JHby: Jonathan Howard07/13/24Jondean25

After postrace inspection last night at Pocono Raceway, Phil Gould, crew chief for Ross Chastain received some poor financial news. The No. 45 Niece Motorsports truck had a loose lug nut at the finish and Gould will be fined $5,000 by NASCAR.

Ross Chastain finished P5 in a race dominated by Corey Heim. Chastain and others tried their best to keep up with the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota. It was a futile effort.

Unfortunately, the No. 45 couldn’t get out of Pocono without a penalty. Not a major deal, but $5,000 isn’t cheap, either. Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports shared the news once NASCAR handed down the ruling.

Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports have a close relationship. He gets time in their trucks, helps them get their program better, and it all works out for both parties. Chastain has won some races but almost always runs up front in the 45.

The bad news, this is not the only penalty that Chastain has incurred at Pocono. His Cup Series team got into a little bit of trouble in technical inspection as well.

That Melon Man, trying to get any advantage he can it seems. Now, I joke, this happens often in NASCAR. Still, that Trackhouse No. 1 team will be shorthanded.

Ross Chastain, others penalized after inspection

Ross Chastain, Todd Gilliland, and Daniel Hemric’s cars didn’t fail inspection once, but twice. All three made it on the third attempt, which is good for them. It gets real bad after you fail three times.

Each team has lost their car chief for the weekend and pit stall selection. The only saving grace is that they will still be able to qualify today. If they can get a good position on track early, it might save them from their poor pit stall selection.

Ross Chastain rain top-10 at New Hampshire but has had rough goings the last two races. At Nashville, he was in it for the win but was wrecked late for a DNF and P33. Then he struggled to a P22 finish at Chicago on the streets.

A good run at the Tricky Triangle could go a long way. Chastain will have to try and avoid Denny Hamlin near the finish. In fact, everyone will have to try to take down Hamlin, he’s the two-time defending winner of this race.