The final lap, one corner, one spot in the playoffs, and the throttle. That’s all that Ross Chastain saw as he headed towards the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway in 2022. Running in P10, there was no way for him to get the final spot in the playoffs. As the field headed towards the final corner, everyone slowed down, but the #1 Chevy sped up, hit the wall, and rode it to mark a fifth-place finish.

The fans went silent before erupting into cheers for Chastain. What he had just pulled off was a video game move, now known as the “Hail Melon”, making use of the wall to gain on his opponents, and ended up overtaking five cars in one corner right before crossing the checkered flag. Although fans only heard him scream “holy cow!” on the team radio, there was a lot more that went on inside the car.

Ross Chastain reveals what went on inside the car during his Hail Melon move

That wall ride wasn’t something that fans didn’t know. Many have tried doing the same in video games, and in fact, Chastain also revealed that he had learned it from playing NASCAR 2005 on his GameCube. As simple as it looked, however, it was quite the challenge for him.

Understandably, sending a 3,0000-pound machine into the wall at a very high speed has its consequences. Apart from the force he felt sitting inside the car, there was also the possibility of a malfunction, which could have turned the entire stunt fatal for him and Trackhouse Racing.

“It was shaking so bad, the wheel, I was like, I’m going to break my arms. I was trying to hold it. And it was straightened itself out,” he said on the Dinner with Racers podcast.

“Like I was turning left and it just jerked it straight. So I let go of my arms. Then got pinned across to the right, left arm across my stomach and right arm on the floor.”

So though he could have used if needed, but he practically went hands-free in that moment temporarily. But even the smallest of errors could have sent the Chevy flying across the track. This was a real danger. But when it comes to the final four berth of the playoffs, drivers don’t seem to care for much, and so was the case with Chastain.

“I remember the heat from the floor,” he added. “I remember the vibration felt terrible. Everything went blurry, vision-wise. I thought I was going to flip over. So the left front tire, these cars are so rigid, it squatted it so much on the right sides at the left front.”

Was the wall ride worth the risk?

After listening to Chastain’s dangerous behind-the-scenes experience, a simple question comes to mind regarding the wall ride. Why? Why did Ross Chastain risk his entire NASCAR career in that one race? Any injury could’ve hampered his performance, and the move wouldn’t have made sense. However, there were some other aspects regarding the race and the season.

Having won two races for Trackhouse earlier that year, Chastain had locked himself in the playoffs very early. However, he was falling short of a few points to head into the Championship 4 at the end of this race. Running in 10th place, he had to finish at least in 8th to keep his title contention alive, and so he gained. He gained five places on that one corner in that single move. Ultimately, putting the risk aside, the Melon Man did manage to walk out safely and kept his playoff berth.

But there were some repercussions. The drivers, although impressed at first, did not find it a very fair way to race. Moreover, NASCAR also ended up banning any such moves for the future, keeping in mind the drivers’ safety.

But there was one driver who was affected more than anyone else on the field.

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Denny Hamlin’s championship drought continued

Despite being one of the more competitive drivers on the current Cup Series field, Denny Hamlin has never managed to win the championship. In fact, he has come close multiple times and is a frequent face in the playoffs.

So was the case in the 2022 season. Even on the final lap at Martinsville, going through the final corner, Hamlin was in the Championship 4. There seemed to be nothing that could take it away from him. Until Chastain rode the wall. He overtook Hamlin right before crossing the checkered flag, pushing him out of title contention.

This was another one of the stronger seasons for Hamlin with consistent finishes within the top-10 and multiple race wins, yet he ended up losing out on the title contention.

Despite this, however, he didn’t criticize Chastain, as there was no ‘wall riding rule’ prior to this race.

“These are the rules we play,” he told the media after the race. You got to race inside these walls, and he found a way to do it better than us on the last lap. I absolutely hate the result but I loved our performance.”

Despite his life-threatening attempts at winning the title, Ross Chastain stayed away from the top spot. It was Joey Logano who managed to outscore the Championship 4 pack in the final race at Phoenix that year, clinching his second title. Yet, Chastain ended up creating the most iconic moment of the season, which is still talked about and considered unbelievable.