Ross Chastain holds off Martin Truex Jr. to win Ally 400 [Video]

LEBANON, Tenn — Ross Chastain held off Martin Truex Jr. and won the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night, his third career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Chastain entered fourth in the season points race and wound up leading a race-high 100 laps at the 1.33-mile, D-shaped concrete oval. That included the final 34 laps as the 30-year-old had to weave by some slower traffic to hold off Truex by 0.789 seconds.

The driver known as “Melon Man” celebrated clinching a playoff berth with a burnout before smashing a watermelon onto the start-finish line. Chastain, who has been criticized for his aggressive driving style, called this win a reminder to every competitor not to believe their critics.

“I got to tell you a lot of self-reflection through all this, but I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t …