Jul 30, 2022; Speedway, Indiana, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain (1) walks into the pits before Nascar Cup Practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Ross Chastain penalized for taking shortcut on final lap at Verizon 200

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 7/31/22

Ross Chastain went off-course during the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday in Indianapolis and was penalized as a result.

There was a big pileup of cars on the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series race as the pack approached the first turn. Rather than get bunched up with all the traffic, Chastain decided to take a shortcut.

it appears ross chastain simply opted out of turn 1#NASCAR #Verizon200 pic.twitter.com/U0t2CBd4cM

— Steve Luvender (@steveluvender) July 31, 2022

Thanks to the maneuver, Chastain ended up competing with eventual race winner Tyler Reddick for first. Reddick took the checkered flag, and Chastain was next to cross the finish line.

But Chastain’s second-place finish did not last long.

NASCAR penalized Chastain for taking the access road, leaving him with a 27th-place finish when all was said and done.

The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet said after the race that he was not planning to take the shortcut and it just happened as a reaction because he wanted to avoid the cluster of cars.

“Just trying not to be in the carnage there in Turn 1. I thought we were four-wide. Couldn’t go any farther right. Decided to take the NASCAR access lane out there. … Just pure reaction,” Chastain said in his post-race interview on NBC.

Ross Chastain took the access road and came out on front.

You can't do that, so #NASCAR penalized him and relegated him to 27th. pic.twitter.com/SB2vXW5P8j

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 31, 2022