“That’s some crazy s**t”: Denny Hamlin recalls sour memories of Hail Melon led playoff elimination at Martinsville

Denny Hamlin was yards away from qualifying for the 2022 Championship 4 at Martinsville until Ross Chastain arrived. Chastain pulled out a brilliant yet controversial 'Hail Melon' move to qualify for the final round and denied Hamlin from doing the same. A couple of years later, Hamlin has reminisced about the saddening event, that too a few days before this year's Martinsville race.

Hamlin was one of the frontrunners to qualify for the final four after his magical first-half performance in the 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. The Joe Gibbs Racing star claimed Stage 1 and Stage 2 victories, led 203 laps, and was on his way to finish the race in fourth place behind Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney.

However, Chastain, the melon man's sudden appearance changed the equation. The Trackhouse Racing driver slammed his #1 Chevrolet Camaro against the barrier, rode the wall, and finished ahead of Hamlin just by a whisker. In doing so, he clinched the last Championship 4 spot, ahead of the JGR driver.

"I was minus a lot and headed towards the final 4 and then Hail Melon (Ross Chastain) got me," Hamlin said in the Actions Detrimental podcast recently. "Won both stages, I don't know how many I was out two years ago, but it was a lot."

"We dominated the race, going to finish well, and we had a bad pit stop. On the last stop, and that was it. Even with the bad pit stop, we drove back up to the top five-ish, and then Ross, yeah rode the wall on us. That's some crazy s**t," he added. (37:03-37:38)

Martinsville is all set to host this year's final round of 8 race next weekend, where six drivers are expected to deliver their best performances and qualify for the final race at Phoenix on November 10.

Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick have already qualified for the Championship 4 after their respective victories at Las Vegas and Homestead in the first two races of round of 8.

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Denny Hamlin termed Ross Chastain's wall-riding a "fair" move

In Picture: Denny Hamlin (11) and Ross Chastain (1) driving at the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Source: Imagn Images)

While there are controversies surrounding Ross Chastain's wall-riding Hail Melon move, Denny Hamlin termed the action as fair. Even though he lost his Championship 4 chance because of the move, he did not label it as unfair and brought forth an excuse.

“For us, it really was one lap,” Hamlin told the media following the race. “It was one move, one lap, that took us out. Certainly, we should be starting up front and contending to win the race. I think if we do that, we’re still fine but coulda, woulda, shoulda. We didn’t. We didn’t do good enough, and we lost on a move, which (is) fair game.”

Hamlin is contesting for the Championship 4 in 2024 as well. He currently stands in sixth place with a tally of -18 points below the cutline. However, Ross Chastain did not make it to the round of 8 this season.