(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
To make the Championship 4 a year ago, Ross Chastain had to make some magic happen at Martinsville Speedway. Down two points to Denny Hamlin on the final lap, Chastain needed a miracle.
“Need two spots here,” radioed spotter Brandon McReynolds.
“Got to get them?” asked Chastain.
“Yeah, got to get them. Need two.”
No problem, thought Chastain.
He threw his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet into fifth gear and sent it at full speed into Turns 3 and 4, riding against the wall. Entering the corner in the ninth position, he exited fourth and advanced to the championship race, eliminating Hamlin.
Recalling the historic day, Chastain stood in front of that same mangled Camaro on the Martinsville grounds and reflected. The move seems wild — but it was somehow all calculated.
“When I hit the wall into Turn 3, I actually hit it at more of an angle than I wanted to,” Chastain explained. “I wanted to blend into it on the straightaway and never have a hard impact. The wall actually kicks out to the right a few inches but I didn’t know that. I hit it way too hard into Turn 3 I thought, and somehow, it didn’t slow down. I think it was a combination of the body panels not being metal, not caving in on the tires and cutting them down. The tires still hold air – the same tires, same wheels … they hold the same amount of air that they did before and for just as long. Everything about this car played into it, and leaning up against it right now, it brings back a lot of memories.
“When I see a clip of it or video of it or the data on it, it doesn’t seem real. Looking at the car, it’s pretty wild to think what we accomplished and doing that. It’s even more awesome that it’ll never be done again.”
After his incredible, video game-like move, Chastain pulled his car down pit road and soaked in the moment. As he completed his mandatory interviews, the clip blew up on social media. Millions of fans viewed it on YouTube, TikTok and X (previously referred to as Twitter).
Before heading home, Chastain walked down pit road and out to Turn 3. He viewed the scuffed-up wall, which he now owns a piece of as a gift from Martinsville track president Clay Campbell. He took a minute to soak it all in.
Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon car on display at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Nathan Solomon | The Podium Finish)
“We were walking back over to our cars in the grass there outside of (Turns) 3 and 4,” Chastain said. “We stopped and looked from up on the hill down into three and four and just couldn’t believe it. My family was there, my mom and dad.
“We got out of here and we were riding down the road, we decided to stop at Waffle House. We were sitting there about two hours after by the time we got done with all the media – we got out of here, got down there and we were just laughing. Nobody in there knew who we were or what was going on. I grasped it there that it’s going to be forever. I’m going to get asked about this forever. I woke up the next day and just told myself – it’s OK … it’s going to be forever. Win again, win some more and then I’ll be able to deal with it.
“I didn’t want this to be my last thing … to come back this year and win – I struggle to put into words how big that was. A lot of people thought – oh yeah, it was big. He only has one win this year, not as fast as last year. The speed we had this year to stay relevant; win and pass the guys we passed in Nashville … bucket list and lifelong memories, core memories that I’ll always remember.”
But when Chastain went to bed that night, needed to shelve that memory. The then 29-year-old from Alva, Florida had to prepare to race for his first career championship. He didn’t let the Hail Melon affect him. He didn’t let it affect the way he went about his daily processes that week.
Chastain woke up Monday morning and went to work on preparing for Phoenix. Sure, the stakes were about to be higher than ever before in his career. But for the journeyman driver, he treated it like any ordinary week.
(Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
“I got to wake up Monday morning after Martinsville last year and prepared just like I had the 35 Mondays before for the weekend,” Chastain said. “I have routines, I have processes in place. There’s days throughout the year where they feel repetitive and unnecessary, but I just stick to my processes — and I evolve them — and I push myself to do another mile or another rep or get to sleep at half hour earlier.
“There were times in my career years past where I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t have a process. I was just winging it and I could do whatever I wanted to. Now it’s more regimented and I enjoy that process. I really thrive in that, and I got to wake up Monday morning and go back to work.”
Ultimately, Chastain fell short of a championship and finished second in the 2022 standings. He won twice — securing victories earlier in the year at Circuit of the Americas and Talladega Superspeedway.
But more importantly, Chastain put himself on the map. Over the course of his career, he’s struggled to find funding and stable rides. He debuted in NASCAR in 2011 and it took him seven years before finally making it to victory lane in the Xfinity Series. Chastain got his first shot in a competitive Cup car in 2021 when he drove for Chip Ganassi Racing in its final season. Trackhouse retained him in 2022 when Justin Marks bought all of Ganassi’s NASCAR assets.
With the Hail Melon, Chastain immediately became an internet sensation. He became recognizable even outside the NASCAR realm.
“It felt like a third win last year,” Chastain said. “The attention we got internally, and it’s really something that I just struggled to keep up with at the time. Same thing as COTA and Talladega, and then Nashville (Superspeedway) this year – so much gets thrown at you when you win in the Cup Series. It’s awesome. It’s everything that I ever dreamed about and more.
“The Hail Melon was another one of those. And then it went further than NASCAR – it went to places all around the world, and I got to do some really cool interviews and be on some platforms that I never would have gotten to with a win.”
Chastain’s last-ditch effort won’t soon be forgotten. He hopes to figure out where the wall segment will go. The car will stay at Trackhouse. He even wore a special helmet at Martinsville to commemorate the anniversary.
But a year later, it’s clear that Chastain’s move will have an ever-lasting legacy to his career — and the sport.
