At Martinsville, Chastain not only pulled off one of the most amazing moves in NASCAR history, he did it in true Chastain style. While setting a new track record and moving up 5 spots in a quarter-mile, he Chastained the wall and everyone’s expectations. In a move that has been viewed millions of times now, Chastain was able to squeeze his way into the Final Four of the Championship. Some called the move amazing, unbelievable, ballsy; more than one called it reckless and ill-advised. Everyone watched it slack-jawed and astonished.
Chastain is one of several drivers in their sophomore season of Cup series driving. It seems the 2022 season agrees with the newer drivers. Of the Championship 16, six drivers have raced for five or fewer seasons at the Cup level. The younger drivers obviously have learned some things along the way that have given them some exceptional driving skills. When he moved to the Cup series in 2021, Chastain had an okay year, collecting three Top 5s, eight Top 10s, and leading 62 laps. Most fans probably didn’t expect a big jump in performance this year, but Trackhouse Racing has really poured into their talented teams. Look at the years in the series each of the Championship 16 have. Half the contenders have more time in the Series than all of Trackhouse Racing combined. Yet here they are.
In a slingshot move heard ‘round the world, Chastain hammered down in the final quarter-mile of Martinsville’s famed paper clip and went absolute full send in a last-ditch effort to secure a spot in the Final Four. Pulling upwards of 5 Gs, Ross raced past Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin to finish 5th. Christopher Bell crossed the line ahead of everyone else, putting him in the Final Four as he was in a win-to-get-in scenario, but all anyone can talk about is The Hail Melon.
Let’s look at the numbers. Acceleration = velocity2/radius. G Force = acceleration (in meters/second2)/9.8. At Martinsville, Turn 3 has an approximate radius of 200 feet and Chastain was traveling about 125 mph at max speed as he punched it. Do a little magic math in the background… Ross was pulling 5.2 Gs as he Chastained the wall and upset the Final Four. Given the average watermelon weighs 15 pounds, and Chastain weighs around 160, he was driving with the weight of about 55 watermelons pressing down on him. That’s an awful lot of produce.
What Chastain did at Martinsville took grit and intestinal fortitude. No one could say he didn’t pour everything he had into that last half-lap. In all the ways NASCAR has worked to increase viewership and bring attention to the sport, it took a watermelon farmer from Florida driving an absolutely insane final lap at a track shaped like a paperclip to get millions of people talking about racing. Every form of social media reports millions of views of this move. Sports shows have picked it up and are calling it a Top Ten in History moment. Many fans compare it to the famed Pass in the Grass as a move that will be talked about for decades to come. One thing’s for sure, you can’t write better publicity than this, and one watermelon farmer’s moment of “let’s just see what happens” turned out to be the biggest move in recent racing history. It may just have been enough to get him the Championship. Only Phoenix knows for sure.
Watch the video of the Hail Melon on Twitter here.
Order your own Hail Melon t-shirt from Ross Chastain’s website.
