NASCAR driver Ross Chastain takes banned wall ride move as ‘badge of honor’

After recent tweaks to the sport's rulebook became official, it is safe to say that Ross Chastain is going to be the one and only driver in NASCAR's history to have successfully ridden the Martinsville Speedway wall and gotten away with it. The Trackhouse Racing driver made worldwide headlines in the 2022 racing season for his outrageous maneuver that took him from P10 to P5 within the span of one corner and into Championship 4. He has now found out that going forward, anything resembling 'Hail Melon' will be outlawed in NASCAR.

The spectacular video game move that took place during the 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway was deemed legal at the time due to no specific set of rules disallowing the same to take place in NASCAR's rulebook. Elaborating further on his thoughts on the outlawing of any such move in the future, the #1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver told TMZ Sports:

"I'm proud that I'll be the first and last guy to successfully do it. I take it as a badge of honor that I want my crew chief and my engineers and my mechanics pushing the limits of the car -- I don't want to break the rules, but I want them to have to write new rules and explain things more clearly where we might find a gray area on the car."

When asked whether he would try something similar in the future, Ross Chastain further elaborated:

"I don't want to do it again, I don't want to see guys doing it. And, I'm proud that I'll be the first and last guy to successfully do it."

It is quite obvious why Chastain himself will not be partaking in any wall-riding shenanigans in the future as it does pose a risk to the event's safety, as well as not portraying the sport in a positive light if done regularly.

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NASCAR Cup Series drivers react to 'Hail Melon' being banned by the governing body

Several NASCAR Cup Series drivers were on board with the governing body's decision to outlaw any kind of move resembling the 'Hail Melon' from the future of the sport. One such driver was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who spoke his mind about the ban and said:

"I think it's the right call for sure. I feel like they could have made that call right after that happened because it's never been done before and not really been an issue. Going forward, everybody knows what the rules are. My guys are probably glad that I can't try it because it destroys a race car. I think all in all it's definitely the right call."

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this weekend in Los Angeles, with the Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum.