Ross Chastain has pulled off some incredible feats in his NASCAR career. Though he is no longer in the NASCAR Cup Playoffs this season, he will be returning to the sight of his now famous "Hail Melon" move from 2022.
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The Hail Melon will be something that will live on forever, but it will never be replicated, as that move is now illegal in the sport. Despite its banned status NASCAR cannot take away how incredible and unbelievable the move was.
Looking back at @RossChastain's UNREAL last-lap move at @MartinsvilleSwy.
"The Hail Melon" prompted NASCAR to add a rule banning drivers from flooring it along the wall to pass. pic.twitter.com/PbW2Jk7bRg
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 24, 2023
With it now being a year since it was done, Chastain has had plenty of time to reflect on what that move meant.
Chastain spoke with Reid Spencer from NASCAR.com about how long it took him to process what he actually did.
"When we were driving home that night, we stopped in Walkertown, somewhere just south of Martinsville on the way back to Charlotte, and we ate at a Waffle House," Chastain said. "We were laughing and talking about it, but looking back, it really didn't (register)."
Chastain then pointed out that the move didn't really sink in until he returned to Martinsville earlier this year and helped remove a section of the wall to put with the now famous car back at the Trackhouse Racing shop.
"It wasn't 'til I went back up there to remove the wall. Mr. Campbell (Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell) had me up. We took a piece of Kubota equipment and lifted the center of the wall out with most of the word 'Martinsville' in it. He gave that to us, and that's going to go with the 'Hail Melon' car that (team owner) Justin (Marks) kept."
Chastain has quickly made his mark in NASCAR as the source of some new phrases, including the term "Chastained", which means when you are being raced by Chastain in an overly aggressive way, or the phrase "Hail-Melon-ed," which Denny Hamlin's crew chief Chris Gabehart used to describe tChastain's desperate move that knocked Hamlin out of the playoffs at Martinsville last fall.
The Hail Melon move by Chastain will never be forgotten because it was so unpredictable and unconventional. That wall may not be at Martinsville any longer, but for Chastain, the move will be something he will always be remembered for, no matter what he accomplishes in his NASCAR career.
