Finally, the Watermelon Man did it. The pole sitter of Ally 400, Ross Chastain claimed his first victory of the season and his career’s third, at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night. The Trackhouse Racing driver gave it all, to rise and claim his victory at the team’s home track and put to rest all controversies.

“With a watermelon in one hand and chequered in the other,” Chastain was surely on cloud nine. Following Chastain were the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin, to complete the top three. However, this race and victory solely belong to Ross Chastain and his team, who held on to the race till the last drops.

Ross Chastain Sets All Criticisms to Rest After He Clinches the Chequered at Nashville Superspeedway

It’s been a month since the #1 Chevrolet driver was the talk of the town and the center of all controversies, for his aggressive driving. He was on the verge of replacing Bubba Wallace as the most polarizing figure on the NASCAR grid. 

After his clash with Kyle Larson, even the Hendrick Motorsports team boss Rick Hendrick had issued an ultimatum to Chastain and their common manufacturer Chevrolet. The Trackhouse Racing driver had shoved Larson out of contention third time in the last four races. Even the co-owner of Trackhouse Racing had to sit down with Chastain and had a difficult conversation.

But everything can take a backseat, after Sunday’s race for Ross Chastain and his team. After taking the chequered and bursting the watermelon, Chastain in the post-race interview with NBC expressed, “This is incredible. This is for every little kid out there anywhere in the world, when you are criticized and you are going to be competitive, they will try to tear you down. You will start believing in them. You can’t do it.”

He added, “You have to go to your people, trust in the process, read your books, trust the big man’s plan upstairs, and just keep getting up and going. A lot of self-reflection throughout this, but I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t let me get down. And they bring rocket ships and I just to put them into the victory lane.”  

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Chastain fought tooth and nail to maintain his position as the leader of the race. But a messy stage second stage seemed to throw a wrench into the works. But the driver waded through and finally seized the opportunity after a fierce tussle with the points leader Truex Jr and crossed the start-finish line way ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

Kyle Larson fan applauds a chastised Chastain’s perseverance through personal setbacks

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The fans could not be more elated and happy for the Melon Man, as he finally snapped his winless streak, since Talladega last year. Fans took to Twitter to show their support and convey their congratulations to the driver on winning his first victory in the season and earning a Playoff berth.

“I am a Larson fan first, Chastain second. Love this win and really appreciate seeing someone come back from individual setbacks….perseverance!”

Fans commented, “Yeah Ross!!! You know what’s up! Well earned tonight.”

A diehard Chastain fan gave a shoutout to Mama Chastain, congratulating her for her son’s first redemptive win this season.

While some reiterated a few golden words from Chastain’s speech, “Trust the process,” others also commented, “Amen Brother Keep digging drive your race not there’s!!! Work Hard Play Harder.”

It was surely a victory hard-earned. After being embroiled in a number of controversies, the driver did not get cowed by criticisms. Rather, he chose to fight back and let the results do all the talking. And he surely proved it on the tracks of Nashville Superspeedway.

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