- Ross Chastain wins the first NASCAR race event after the passing of Kyle Busch.
- Trackhouse Racing driver honoured Busch by recreating his signature celebration.
- The race was delayed for more than four hours and was shortened due to rain.
In the first race held after the passing of Kyle Busch on Thursday, which his family attributed to complications from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, Ross Chastain bagged the win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The win is Chastain’s fourth victory in the O’Reilly Series, and his fifteenth across all three divisions of NASCAR’s touring competitions. The result also means he has now recorded wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway across all three series.
He led 28 laps in a race that was stopped early due to rain and concluded over 91 laps, and he sealed the result after dealing with track conditions involving rain and oil on the surface. Even with all of that playing out, Chastain made sure to honor Kyle Busch.
Ross Chastain draws from Kyle Busch’s win lane routine
Ross Chastain has a peculiar victory routine that stands out in NASCAR. Drawing from his background working on his family’s watermelon farm, he stands on his car and throws a watermelon to the track surface, where it breaks for fans. He carried out that routine at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
But before that, he paid tribute to Kyle Busch, who had a well-known celebration routine in victory lane. Chastain stood on top of his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and said, “I have to do it.” He then placed his right arm across his body and bent at the waist, mirroring the bow that Busch used after multiple race wins. After that, he carried out his usual watermelon throw.
“Losing Kyle was on my mind”
The Trackhouse Racing driver said, “I didn’t know what I was going to do. And we had conversations about, do we smash the watermelon or not? We were very aware and mourning with everybody. The bow I did was in the most respectful way of showmanship to one of the greatest drivers I’ve ever raced against, and to do it as a nod to him.”
“I think racing is the best thing we can do. Getting on the track felt so good, to go fast, to just drive and slide the car. This is the start of feeling a little bit of healing through this. It felt good to go fast tonight. … Losing Kyle was on my mind through all of this,” he continued.
Chastain will compete in both the Craftsman Truck Series race and the Cup Series race on Sunday. The Truck race, originally scheduled for Friday night, will be held at 10 a.m. ET, and the Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
When asked whether his celebration would lead other race winners on Sunday to honour Busch in the same way, Chastain said, “I hope nobody else gets the chance, and we just win all the races.”
Race details from the event
Chastain won the Charbroil 300 on Saturday night after NASCAR called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race due to weather conditions after two stages were completed. He led at the end of the second stage after several laps under caution due to rain and fog conditions on the track.
The race was delayed by more than 4 hours due to weather and restarted around 10 p.m. ET after a planned start time of 5 p.m. ET. Chastain started in 14th position. Only 33 laps were completed before a red flag was issued due to rain. Chastain said he slept on the floor of his hauler during the delay, while team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. left the venue.
When the race resumed in the evening, with rain and fog affecting the track, Chastain moved into third position at the end of Stage 1 after working through the field, while Connor Zilisch took Stage 1. During Stage 2, Chastain used two restarts, on Lap 58 and Lap 66, to compete with Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Hill and Jesse Love for the lead. Track conditions continued to change with ongoing rain and fog.
After exchanging the lead with Love on four occasions, Chastain took the lead for the final time on Lap 72. One lap later, he and several other drivers ran over a section of oil that came from Dawson Cram’s entry. Several drivers slid up the track and made contact with the outside wall through the first two turns.
Reduced to 109 laps
Through the incident, Chastain kept the lead and remained on track under caution to take the Stage 2 win. One lap after Stage 2 ended, he and the field were directed to pit road, triggering a second red flag due to track conditions. With circumstances not improving, NASCAR called the event official 109 laps before the scheduled distance and gave Chastain the win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event for the 2026 season.
Jesse Love and Austin Hill, both drivers for Richard Childress Racing, the Cup Series team Kyle Busch was part of, finished second and third in the O’Reilly race. Hill is also ready to drive Busch’s renumbered Cup entry on Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600. Hill and Love both placed Busch hats after exiting their cars on Saturday night.
Love was initially upset with how the race ended, but later shifted his response after reflecting on the news of Busch.
