What’s Happening?
Ross Chastain found himself in the center of controversy once again as he spun the lapped car of Brennan Poole, collecting Kyle Larson. Both Poole and Larson fell well out of contention following the incident.
You Need To Know:
- Ross Chastain, a notably aggressive driver, was battling for fourth spot with Kyle Larson during stage one of the Wurth 400 at Dover behind the two lapped cars of Austin Dillon and Brennan Poole. Chastain ran into the back of Poole, sending Poole into a spin back up the track which collected Kyle Larson.
- Ross Chastain has a history of aggressive driving. Sometimes it has resulted in incredible moments such as the “Hail Melon” at Martinsville in October, but sometimes it has drawn the ire of the garage or the fans, most notably his feud in 2022 with Denny Hamlin. Chastain said to his team after this incident, “I did not mean to do that at all.” Poole said in reponse to todays wreck that Chastain, “Probably needs to get his butt whooped,” to Fox Sports’ Jamie Little after the incident.
- Fans, drivers, and media members are generally not on Chastain’s side with this incident. Most are generally tired of seeing these types of incidents involving the 1 car.
The Main Characters
Ross Chastain wrecked Brennan Poole collecting Kyle Larson during stage one at Dover, and Rusty Wallace gave his thoughts.
"That was a little too aggressive in my opinion."- Rusty Wallace https://t.co/5SMW0NEyPG pic.twitter.com/BKjnHgjTN4
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 1, 2023
Brennan Poole was not happy with Chastain following the incident at Dover
Brennan Poole on Ross Chastain at Dover … 👀 pic.twitter.com/cyj2TBODqL
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 1, 2023
Kyle Larson was not happy with Chastain following the incident either.

Around the Garage
Alex Bowman, recovering at home from a back injury, was clearly not impressed with Chastain causing a crash that involved Bowman’s teammate.
5 was a rocket, 1 doing 1 things. Gosh I’m sure he didn’t mean to. pic.twitter.com/sOT4J1dV8R
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) May 1, 2023
🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) May 1, 2023
From the Stands
Christopher Welch finds some humor in this incident.

@toby_021239316 on Twitter believes Poole deserves some blame due to breaking early.

Mark Holmes comes up with a new nickname for Chastain.

MrPissant comes up with another Chastain nickname.

On Your Screen
The Iceberg (Jaret Lundberg) points out a cycle he sees with these Ross Chastain incidents.
Time for the part of the cycle where Ross apologizes and says he'll "do better next time"#NASCAR
— Jaret Lundberg (@IceTitan80) May 1, 2023
It certainly was a SPICY soundbite Eric.
SPICY Brennan speaking facts
— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) May 1, 2023
Jett Krauss suggests that Chastain stops simply apologizing after multiple of these incidents.
I’d stop apologizing Chastain. After the 10th time it’s just meaningless
— Jett Kraus (@JettMDK) May 1, 2023
From the Pressbox
Steven Stumpf and others caught up with Brennan Poole after the incident.
Let’s just say that Brennan Poole wasn’t a happy camper.
— Stephen Stumpf (@stephen_stumpf) May 1, 2023
“That seems to be something Ross does a lot.”#NASCAR #Wurth400 pic.twitter.com/1iU2VCqdHq
Tom Bowles reports that Poole claims he sees a pattern in these types of incidents.
Poole: "There's nothing more I can do in the situation. I felt like I just got ran over [by @RossChastain] … that's been something he's been known to do here recently"#NASCAR #Wurth400
— Tom Bowles (@NASCARBowles) May 1, 2023
Davey Segal from Sirius XM NASCAR Radio puts the blame on Ross Chastain for the incident.
🗣️"I did not mean to do that at all. Gosh." – @RossChastain radio
— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) May 1, 2023
Hard to not #BlameRoss for that.
Have we seen this before, or something similar to this? Nate Ryan says so.
"He never has any intention of taking anybody out. It just happens that way."
— Nate Ryan (@nateryan) May 1, 2023
–Terry Labonte, Aug. 28, 1999 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Bob Pockrass reports that Kyle Larson did return to the race following repairs.
Larson heads back to the track after repairs.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 1, 2023
Chastain once again finds himself in controversy. It seems that he is falling more out of the good graces of the general NASCAR population after today’s incident.