"I don't care if he's driving a Chevy" - When Rick Hendrick addressed Ross Chastain's actions involving Kyle Larson
After the 2023 Goodyear 400 race at Darlington Raceway, Rick Hendrick issued a stern warning for Ross Chastain after wrecking Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson. As a result of several on-track incidents between the two Chevrolet drivers, Hendrick made his point across to the Trackhouse Racing driver Chastain.
While battling for the lead on a late restart and six laps to go, the #1 Chastain tangled up with the 2021 Cup Series champion Larson and damaged the #5 Chevy's right rear as Chastain spun sideways. Larson fell out of contention to win, thus ending the race with an underwhelming finish for both the Cup Series drivers.
In a post-race media interaction, the owner of the winningest NASCAR Cup Series team, Hendrick, addressed Chastain's action and said:
"I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars. I don’t care. I’ve told Chevrolet that. If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back. If you don’t do it, they’ll run all over you. I’m loyal to Chevrolet, but when somebody runs over us, then I expect my guys to hold their ground. I’m not going to ask them to yield just because of Chevrolet." [1:14]
Furthermore, the 14-time Cup Series champion as an owner Hendrick, said that you won't win championships if you make enemies along the way.
"If you have a lot of people want to pay you back then it's hard to win a championship that way," added Hendrick. [2:05]
Moreover, the 31-year-old Chastain recently reflected on his on-track incident with HMS' Larson.
"We, definitely, had a conversation": Ross Chastain opened up on his incident after the Rick Hendrick-Kyle Larson Darlington incident
In a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Ross Chastain reflected on a late-race tangle with Kyle Larson at the 2023 Darlington race and how he asked for Rick Hendrick's number after the incident.
Speaking with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Trackhouse Racing driver Chastain discussed the "magnitude" and the learnings that followed.
"We definitely had a conversation. Yeah, I mean, crashed a couple of his cars, gonna reach out. I called him. I had to ask for his number. Was it as big of a deal after that? No, I don't think so. Justin Marks and I, we had to learn through that. I was used to it but I wasn't to that magnitude of the #5 car and Mr. Hendrick. So it was good. It was learning," said Chastain.
Although Chastain opened up on how he doesn't want to be disliked in the garage but iterated that things would be different while on a race track. He added:
"When we're on track, if they get mad when they have helmets on because I kept my position, because I raced them, it doesn't bother me. It's when I step over the line, I wreck Kyle Larson, when either one of us could've won that race, driving slower wouldn't help, won't help."
"That's not going to like just stay at the back ... I'll be kicked out of the #1 car," said Chastain.
As things stand, the #1 Chevy driver had an underwhelming season as he couldn't manage a playoff berth. However, he earned his fifth career win in the playoff race at Kansas Speedway. Meanwhile, Larson dominated the 2024 season with six wins but ultimately fell out of contention for the championship title in the Round of 8.
Nevertheless, Chevrolet as a manufacturer won the Championship with a a total of 15 wins this season.