Ross Chastain has cleared up that viral clip from his famous ‘Hail Melon’ wall ride at Martinsville Speedway. The Trackhouse Racing driver shared that the popular quote about seeing God or the checkered flag did not come from him.
Chastain entered the final lap of the 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway running 10th. He pulled off the desperate move to finish ahead of Denny Hamlin, who led a race-high 203 laps, and claimed the final Championship 4 spot.
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During the recent episode of Bussin’ With The Boys, Chastain addressed the viral edited clip of the wall ride that quoted him saying:
“I’m just gonna put my foot on the floor and I’m not lifting until I see God or the checkered flag.”
The No. 1 Chevy driver said:
“That’s not me. Somebody like spliced that and made a video that went viral.”
Chastain was about to be eliminated with only two corners left when he shifted into fifth gear and kept his Chevrolet at full throttle. He drove into the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 and used the fence to carry speed around the track.
“My mind thought, if you just go wide open, never lift, there would be nobody in front of me, they’re all gonna run the bottom, and I’ll go around the outside.”
The move allowed him to pass Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, William Byron and Hamlin before reaching the finish line.
Chastain jumped from 10th to fifth during the final corner. His lap took only 18.845 seconds, setting the fastest lap ever recorded in a Cup Series race at Martinsville at that time. NASCAR later changed its rules to ban drivers from using the outside wall to gain an advantage.
“The real radio communication was better” – Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks on the ‘most viral moment’ that gave Ross Chastain his first Championship 4
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks also reflected on the real radio exchange behind Ross Chastain’s famous 2022 Martinsville move.
“The real radio communication was better than that. So we’re sitting here with 10 laps to go, Ross gets on the radio and asks his crew chief, he goes, like, how many do I need? Do I need two or do I need three? This is at the white flag. And that third car in front of him that he needs to pass is a hundred yards in front of him. Like, it’s not gonna happen,” he said.
“Ross gets on the radio and says, ‘Gotta get him.’ … Pretty confident saying it was the most viral moment in the history of the sport.”
Ross Chastain crossed the line in fifth and was moved one up to fourth in the official results after Brad Keselowski’s disqualification. That finish gave him a four-point advantage over Hamlin for the final Championship 4 position, first in his Cup career. Chastain finished second in the final 2022 Cup Series standings, behind Joey Logano.
Edited by Palak Gupta
