“The fail melon”: NASCAR fans react as Christopher Bell misses out on a shot at maiden title, William Byron qualifies to final 4

Christopher Bell was penalized at the Martinsville race for riding the wall on the final lap reminiscent of Ross Chastain’s ‘hail melon’ move on the same track two years ago. With Bell out of the championship contention, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to the penalty.

Bell is one of the six playoff drivers competing for a spot in the final four at Martinsville Speedway after Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick locked themselves in the championship race. The No. 20 driver initially advanced to the Championship 4, but NASCAR later penalized him for riding the wall on the final lap.

One X user described Christopher Bell’s final lap move as a ‘fail melon’ referencing Chastain’s ‘hail melon.’

“The fail melon"

Another fan said:

“Half melon still tastes like melon unfortunately”

“The Hail Melon’nt,” one fan wrote.

Meanwhile, other fans argued that NASCAR penalized Christopher Bell in favor of Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. One X user stated:

“Good call, but something has to happen to prevent the Chevy manipulation that occurred in the future. That was just as egregious.”

“A dumpster fire all around. Toyotas manipulating. Chevys manipulating. Just a disaster. This is the playoffs,” another fan commented.

“Took so long because Rick was writing the check,” a fan said.

Christopher Bell drives the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing - Source: Imagn

The Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway witnessed Ryan Blaney taking victory. The win gave him a spot for the Championship 4 and a chance to defend his title at Phoenix Raceway next week. Blaney will go up against Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron for the championship.

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Christopher Bell reacts to the penalty for wall riding on the final lap at Martinsville

In a post-race interview at Martinsville, Christopher Bell was speechless after NASCAR penalized him for riding the wall on the final lap. The penalty sent him out of playoff contention and gave William Byron the final spot in the Championship 4. Bell said,

“I don’t know what to say. I… I don’t know what to say.”

When asked about coming off the wall to finish the race, the Oklahoma native explained his move was different from Ross Chastain’s ‘hail melon’ move and said:

“Well, I mean I understand that the rule was made to prevent people from riding the wall but my move was completely different than what Ross’ was. I got loose getting into the corner and slid right into the fence so, yeah, I mean, I don’t know what else to say.”

After the penalty, Christopher Bell dropped from 18th to 22nd. For context, a P18 finish was all Bell needed to advance to the next round. He then passed Bubba Wallace on the final lap, but his maneuver put his No. 20 car to the wall.

Bell exited the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.