Ross Chastain’s team’s straightforward caution during the Dover race: “Don’t f*ck with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.”

During the Dover Motor Speedway race, a radio exchange from Ross Chastain’s pit crew caught attention. As the caution flag came out to end Stage 2, Chastain door-slammed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. entering Turn 1. Stenhouse Jr., who was two laps down, then pulled up alongside Chastain in what looked like a clear warning.

The clip was posted by motorsports journalist Noah Lewis on X. In the video, we see Chastain driving the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. right as the caution came out to end the stage. The incident occurred in Turn 1. As the field slowed down under caution, Stenhouse Jr. responded by driving up alongside Chastain, but no further contact happened.

Chastain then received an immediate and direct radio warning from his team, instructing him not to provoke or engage further with Stenhouse Jr., who was already out of contention, being two laps behind. Providing context on the same, Lewis wrote on X:

“Ross Chastain door slammed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. down into turn 1 as the caution flag flew to end the stage. The No. 1 team told Ross “don’t f*ck with him, he’s already two laps down.” This was them once they came back around…Stenhouse pulled alongside Chastain this time. No additional contact.”

This wasn’t a one-off interaction either. Ross Chastain has built a reputation as an aggressive racer. He’s had run-ins with multiple drivers across recent seasons, including Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin.

Chastain is ranked 12th in the drivers' standings with 517 points. In 21 races this season, he has one win, three DNFs, and nine top-10 finishes.

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Contact with the wall for Ross Chastain brings out the caution

Ross Chastain’s day didn’t end with that radio exchange. On lap 385, while running 13th, he lost control exiting Turn 1 and hit the wall hard. The impact brought out a caution, just before rain forced NASCAR to red-flag the race with 14 laps remaining.

Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet suffered significant damage and had to be towed off the track. NASCAR confirmed later that he was evaluated and released from the infield care center without injury.

NASCAR also shared multi-angle footage of the crash on their official X account. The caption read:

“Contact with the wall for @RossChastain brings out the caution.”

Chastain started the race in 19th and failed to score a single stage point before crashing out. It was another rough outing in what’s been a tough stretch, with four finishes outside the top 20 in his last five races.

Despite his struggles, Chastain’s earlier win at Charlotte has already secured him a spot in the playoffs. He now heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a 160-lap race, the fifth-to-last event before the playoff grid is finalized at Darlington.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin went on to win at Dover, holding off teammates like Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe in a chaotic double-overtime finish. Chastain, sidelined by damage and rain, could only watch as the race concluded without him in the mix.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar