The Race That Ended a Dream
Ross Chastain’s 2027 NASCAR Cup Chase hopes hit a hard wall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. An internal engine failure spewed smoke and oil, forcing him to park the No. 1 Chevrolet after just 41 laps. He crossed the line 36th—the very last position on the scoring loop—and took home a single point. That result officially locked the door on his playoff run for the year.
Chastain was sitting in 11th when the trouble started. Smoke billowed out of the right-front tire area as he hit the corners. Trackhouse Racing’s car required immediate relocation behind the wall. It marked the first time he finished in last place during the 2026 season. The team had been fighting tooth and nail to crack the top 16, but the engine gave out.
After climbing out of the vehicle, Chastain admitted, “There was an issue internally in the engine.” The damage was visible to everyone watching the feed. “There was oil coming out of the exhaust pipe,” he explained. He tried to keep the car moving but couldn’t save the day. “I felt the No. 1 Kubota Chevy losing power and just rode it out during the caution, but unfortunately, we couldn’t continue,” he added.
This loss hits hard for a driver who knows exactly how to win. Chastain has made the Chase in three of the last five seasons. His highest finish in the 2022 championship was second place. He last missed the top 16 during 2024. Kansas Speedway hosted one of the last ten races where he earned a win during 2024 to recover. Now, he faces a 49-race winless streak dating back to May of 2025.
What Went Wrong on the Track
The failure happened fast and left no time to fix the car. Just 41 laps into the race, the engine let go. Chastain was still a longshot to make the 2027 Chase before this race, but now his chances are officially over. The team needed a miracle, and a blown engine is the opposite of luck. It’s a mechanical failure that ends any shot at points or a win.
Chastain knew the car was hurting before he pulled in. He felt the power drop and saw the smoke. He tried to ride it out during the caution flag, but the car was dead. “It’s just an unfortunate end to our run towards the Chase,” he explained. The words are sad but true. A race car is only as good as its engine, and that engine failed him when he needed it most.
Trackhouse Racing still has one shot at making the Chase. As the Daytona cutoff race approaches, Shane van Gisbergen finds himself on the bubble. He sits with a 31-point cushion. The team will need him to perform perfectly now that Chastain is out of the picture. The pressure shifts entirely to the other driver. One bad race for van Gisbergen could mean the whole team misses the playoffs.
Looking Ahead for the Driver
Chastain isn’t giving up on the season, even though the Chase is gone. He knows the car is getting faster. “The speed has gotten better, so we’ll hopefully keep moving forward on that,” he explained. He believes the team is making progress. “That’s the important part,” he said. They fixed things they could control during the summer months. “With the things in our control, we were able to make them better through the summer,” he noted.
He admits that staying consistent is hard in this sport. “I’ve learned that’s really tough to do in the NASCAR Cup Series,” he explained. The competition is fierce, and small mistakes cost big points. “We did get better, but we’ve got a ways to go,” he admitted. He knows they aren’t done yet. They have to keep working on the car and the strategy.
This race will be a hard lesson for the team. They had the speed, but the engine let them down. Fans will remember this finish as the day the dream died. But the team has to look forward. They have races left to run, and they can still show they are fast. The 2026 season is not over, even if the Chase is.
- Chastain finished 36th (last) after 41 laps.
- He scored just one point in the race.
- This was his first last-place finish of the 2026 season.
- He is currently on a 49-race winless streak.
- Trackhouse still has a chance via Shane van Gisbergen.