Ross Chastain's car from controversial 'Hail Melon' move finds new life thanks to Justin Marks and Trackhouse Racing

NASCAR has officially announced that Ross Chastain’s controversial ‘Hail Melon’ move, the name assigned to his dangerous final-lap wall-riding move in 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, has officially been banned for the 2023 season and beyond.

To properly honor Ross Chastain’s move, which will likely be remembered for a lifetime as NASCAR’s one of the craziest moves ever, Trackhouse Racing co-owner Justin Marks elected to preserve it as a show car and historical piece. The organization has chosen to take this course of action, despite the fact that the 90% parts of the #1 Chevrolet are still usable.

On Wednesday (February 1), Marks made the official announcement through social media, issuing the following statement:

“So the good news is these cars are strong. Because of that, the Martinsville "wall car" came back from the race with 90% of its parts reusable. Which means keeping that car exactly as it came off the track as a show car would cost Trackhouse hundreds of thousands of dollars."

"We've gone back and forth on what to do but given the new ruling NASCAR made yesterday, we've decided to preserve the car as best as possible.”

He continued:

“Ross' move at Martinsville was a historic moment and should be preserved for the fans for years to come in physical form. This sport isn't just about the balance sheet, it's about passion and moments and people.”

The final-lap move, which ultimately qualified Ross Chastain for the season finale race, was named the No. 1 play on SportsCenter the night of the race, and generated enormous buzz around the NASCAR Cup Series, garnering 100 million video views in just two days.

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"The control arms might both be broken on the right front” – Ross Chastain

Last year, when asked in a post-race interview whether the car had future potential or would be preserved, Ross Chastain said he initially had no idea whether the undamaged parts of the car would be reused, or whether the car would be repaired.

During a post-race interview at Martinsville Speedway, Chastain said:

"The control arms might both be broken on the right front. They'll have to take it all apart and measure everything. As far as the chassis goes. The great thing about these cars is if it's not bent, we can race it next year. It wasn't going to Phoenix either way, I knew that.”

Catch Ross Chastain and #1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team in action when the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series kicks off at the iconic Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2023.