Ross Chastain holds off Martin Truex Jr. to win at Nashville, 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory

By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Ross Chastain held off Martin Truex Jr. and won the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. It’s the third Cup Series victory for Chastain and his first since Talladega in April of last year. Chastain also gave Trackhouse Racing its first victory of the year at its home track. He led a race-high 100 laps, including the final 34. The 30-year-old had to weave by some slower traffic to hold off Truex by 0.789 seconds. Chastain clinched a playoff berth and celebrated with a burnout before smashing a watermelon. Denny Hamlin finished third, Chase Elliott was fourth and Kyle Larson was fifth.