Video game move helps Ross Chastain secure Championship 4 berth

Ross Chastain, the driver of the #1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 made a stunning, jaw-dropping move on the final lap of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He put his foot on the throttle, riding the outside wall at full speed, and passed five drivers, including Denny Hamlin, to steal the final Championship 4 spot by just one point.

Xfinity 500 was the elimination race in the Round of 8 before next week’s Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway. The playoff field was about to be reduced from eight to four drivers, and the #1 driver didn’t want to risk not being able to make it into the final four. He made an impossible move on Lap 500 to turn the Cup Series’ fastest lap in the history of Martinsville Speedway.

The last-lap dash by Ross Chastain, which he admitted that he had tried on a video game, sent his pit members into a frenzy of disbelief and celebration. Although he wasn’t sure if it would work, it did and surprised most in the crowd and many of his competitors. Chastain completed the last lap in 18.845 seconds, 0.864 seconds faster than Kyle Larson’s qualifying record time.

Take a look at Chastain’s video game move:

When Chastain came off Turn 2 on the final lap running 10th, it looked like his title hopes were about to come to an end, but he had a different plan to face it. The video game move created such a huge speed difference between him and the drivers that were well ahead of him that Chastain was able to overtake five cars to the finish line, edging playoff competitor Hamlin for a fifth-place finish.

Chastain was later awarded a fourth-place finish after Brad Keselowski’s #6 car was disqualified in the post-race inspection.

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Ross Chastain explained his video game move after Martinsville race

Ross Chastain’s move was one of the most spectacular last lap moves in the history of the sport as it looked unreal, something out of the video game. Speaking to NBC Sports after the race, Chastain explained that he had seen it work long ago while playing NASCAR 2005 on Gamecube with his brother. In a last-ditch effort, he used it and made it work in an unreal fashion.

Chastain said:

“I played a lot of NASCAR 2005 on the Gamecube with (brother) Chad growing up, and you could get away with it. I never knew if it would actually work, and I did that when I was eight years old.”

Ross Chastain will now race for the 2022 Championship next week at Phoenix Raceway, facing off against Joey Logano, regular-season champion Chase Elliott and Xfinity 500 winner Christopher Bell.