Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain made his debut with the outfit in 2022. Not many were fans of the aggressive driving style he displayed from behind the No.1 Chevrolet Camaro. But the watermelon farmer was barely bothered about that and continued to do what he did. A neat little trick that he pulled out in Martinsville that year changed the way the world looked at him.
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In the final lap of the penultimate race of the season, he went from tenth place to fifth between Turn 3 and the checkered flag by riding the wall. He outdueled Denny Hamlin for the final spot in Championship 4 at the Phoenix Raceway with this logic-defying move. The moment stuck so hard with fans that they’ve now voted it the best playoff moment in the elimination era (since 2014).
NASCAR spread out four rounds of voting over the past two weeks to see which moment fans thought was the best. After a striking competition against the Matt Kenseth-Joey Logano clash in 2015, Chastain’s move won by securing 68% of the votes. The driver had rightly predicted last year that the move which was termed the Hail Melon would be something he will always be remembered for.
The playoff moments that “Hail Melon” beat to be voted the best
The Round of 8 race at Martinsville in 2015 saw an intense match playout between Kenseth and Logano. The former initially made contact with Brad Keselowski on Lap 443. This allowed Logano to take the lead as Kenseth fell down multiple laps. When he returned to the track after getting his damages repaired, he found the Team Penske driver coming up on his rearview mirror ready to lap him for the tenth time.
Kenseth slammed into him and took both their cars out of the contest. Logano missed out on a potential victory. This battle gave “Hail Melon” the toughest fight but ultimately lost out. Another moment that was in contention was the 2014 brawl between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski in Texas. Keselowski had kicked things off when he spun Gordon late in the race following a restart.
Gordon confronted him at the pit road after the race but the No. 2 Team Penske crew tried keeping their distance to prevent tensions rising. A slight nudge from Kevin Harvick boiled things over and Keselowski left the place bloody.
