LONG POND, Pa. — Ross Chastain dominated at Pocono Raceway on Saturday to win a NASCAR Truck Series race for the third time this season.
Chastain dedicated the victory to popular crew chief Nick Harrison, who died overnight hours after last week’s Xfinity Series race.
« This one’s for you, Nick! » Chastain yelled over the radio as he took the checkered flag.
Chastain has stamped himself a favorite to win the series championship, and he celebrated with an inflatable watermelon he stuffed inside the truck for a victory lap. Chastain always has watermelons around victory lane, a nod to his roots in the family fruit-farming business. The watermelon farmer-turned-racer led 54 laps in the No. 45 Chevrolet.
He grabbed a real watermelon once he hopped out of his truck and smashed it to the ground.
Chastain had a win in the series at Iowa stripped by NASCAR after his truck was found to be too low in a postrace inspection. NASCAR upheld the race-day decision after an appeal. But he had plenty of reason to celebrate at Pocono, giving him a victory to go with ones at Kansas and The Raceway at Gateway in Illinois.
« I’m so dang excited, » Chastain said. « We don’t back down at all. We just keep going. »
Tyler Ankrum was second, followed by Harrison Burton, Christian Eckes and Brett Moffitt.
http://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/27270068/chastain-dedicates-trucks-win-late-harrison
