NASCAR Outlaws Ross Chastain ‘Hail Melon’ Move At Martinsville

Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” move, in which he slammed on the pedal and used the Martinsville Racetrack wall to guide his vehicle, was hailed as a move for the ages since it allowed him to pass multiple rivals and proceed to the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

One of the best decisions of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series was made by Ross Chastain, who took a chance to qualify for the Championship 4 at Phoenix last season. And it’s very probable that we won’t see it again.

It was made to be one for the ages according to a revised interpretation of the NASCAR regulations released on Tuesday.

NASCAR Outlaws Ross Chastain ‘Hail Melon’ Move At Martinsville

An interpretation of NASCAR’s existing general rule on safety would deem such a move to be prohibited, and a driver would be assessed a lap or time penalty, the organisation stated in its 2023 rules release (in other words, their time to the finish line would be increased by an amount determined by NASCAR).

The rule: “Safety is a top priority for NASCAR. … Therefore, any violations deemed to compromise the safety of an event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of competitors, officials, spectators or others are treated with the highest degree of seriousness. Safety violations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.”

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NASCAR’s official statement said any vehicle that attempts Chastain’s wall ride will be issued a time penalty. Said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition:

“Basically, if there’s an act that we feel that compromises the safety of our competitors, officials, spectators, we’re going to take that seriously. And we will penalize for that act going forward. Basically, what it would be is a lap or time penalty at the end of the race, so that move at Martinsville would be a penalty.”

“It brought got a great deal of excitement, a great deal of exposure to our sport, but it also came with some scrutiny,” said NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer.

“If there’s an act that we feel that’s compromising the safety of our competitors, officials, spectators, we’re going take that seriously,” Sawyer said. “We will penalize for that act going forward. That move at Martinsville would be a penalty.”

Chastain said Saturday that he was proud NASCAR made a rule change based on his move.

“I am proud of it,” Chastain said. ‘” don’t want to do it ever again, though. … It was the longest wreck of my life. It was just really successful. I have no desires to ever do that again. Selfishly, I am glad I get to be the only one in history to successfully did it.”

Chastain admitted that he did not feel well from the beating he took inside the car as he hit the wall.

The desperate manoeuvre, which gained attention for the incredible way it appeared that he passed numerous automobiles in a single bend, was not warmly welcomed by his rivals, who liked seeing it but were aware that it may endanger drivers.

Many drivers deemed the manoeuvre to be risky and expressed astonishment that Chastain’s vehicle remained on the track rather than taking off. They also expressed amazement that the Martinsville fence, which includes a gap in the wall that allows race-car carriers to reach the infield, held up.

Why didn’t NASCAR ban wall ride move sooner?

In essence, NASCAR authorities didn’t forbid the move because they never anticipated that drivers would really execute it. Once Chastain qualified for the Final 4 with his performance of “Hail Melon,” that perspective altered. Nonetheless, neither he nor his contemporaries seem to be offended by the maneuver’s ban, as even the driver of the No. 1 Chevy declared he had no plans to use the move ever again.

Sawyer focused on why NASCAR did not execute the rule change at the last Cup Series race in Phoenix in 2022 when NASCAR updated driving teams about it through Motorsport.com. Basically, authorities intended to conclude the season with consistent enforcement of the current regulations while conducting an offseason rulebook evaluation.

“This is not a new rule,” Sawyer said in the update. “The safety language has existed in the rule book, and following Martinsville, we evaluated it, and chose to officiate consistently for the final race of 2022.

“Since the end of the season, we have worked with the drivers and teams to discuss the best way to officiate/interpret the rule for 2023, and we believe this is the right interpretation for the safety of our competitors moving forward.”

Joey Logano had perhaps the best explanation for why NASCAR hadn’t already banned the wall ride maneuver before Chastain used it at Martinsville:

“Something we all thought about at one point — at least I thought about it a lot but never really had the need to do it,” Logano said in the aftermath of the race, before adding: “It was awesome, it was cool. It happened for the first time.”

Other drivers who acknowledged the novelty and thrill of the move also said after the Martinsville race that NASCAR needed to ban it.

Said Logano: “As spectacular as it was, as much as it worked, the problem is now the box is open, right? … That’s not good.

“There’s no rule against it. There needs to be a rule against this one because I don’t know if you want the whole field riding the wall coming to the checkered flag.”

Ryan Blaney also offered a glimpse into the future if NASCAR didn’t make a change: “I guess we’ll all start doing it now coming down to the end of the race.”

Among other new rules announced Tuesday

  1. On road courses, NASCAR will no longer use cautions at the conclusion of stages. At the conclusion of each stage, points will still be awarded, but the caution will not be thrown. Only stand-alone truck and Xfinity races will be an exception, when teams don’t have dedicated over-the-wall pit workers and take pauses at the conclusion of stages to fix their cars.
  2. The crew chief and two crew members will no longer be suspended for four races if a wheel is lost. If it occurs on pit road, there will be a pass-through penalty under green and a restart at the back of the field under caution. Two crew members will be suspended for two races and given a two-lap penalty if it occurs outside of pit road.
  3. Teams will have seven minutes on pit road if their vehicles are damaged in a collision to repair them, according to NASCAR. Prior to being expanded to 10 minutes for the Cup playoffs, it was six minutes last year.
  4. For Cup drivers to qualify for the playoffs with a win, the top-30 in points requirement will no longer apply. The top-20 requirement for Xfinity drivers and trucks has also been dropped. Drivers must continue to enter every race (or receive a waiver to miss a race).
  5. On restarts at Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, and the Bristol dirt race, drivers get to pick their lane. This harmonises the regulation with those used for other oval races.
  6. At the Clash, Martinsville, New Hampshire, North Wilkesboro, Phoenix, and Richmond — all pretty flat, short tracks — NASCAR will utilise “rain” tyres, and teams will be obliged to have windscreen wiper connections and rear lights. Although NASCAR wouldn’t race in a constant downpour, it could be able to resume competition sooner or compete in a mist.

With NASCAR’s assistance, that won’t be the case anymore. With that, Chastain’s “Hail Melon” will go down in NASCAR Cup Series history as a unique move.

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