Ross Chastain got himself into the Championship 4 race with an epic wall-riding maneuver on the last lap at Martinsville.
Chastain joins Martinsville’s race winner Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano as contenders for the 2022 Cup Series championship title at Phoenix Raceway.
However, the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver didn’t please everyone in the video game move that he performed in the last lap.
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Chastain intentionally rode along the wall at full speed. As he accelerated against the wall, he passed by five cars, thus moving from the 10th to the 5th poison finish.
UNBELIEVABLE!@RossChastain floors it along the wall to go from 10th to 5th and advance to the CHAMPIONSHIP! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/9qX3eq7T6h
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 30, 2022
He said that he learned the move from “NASCAR 05” that he played with his brother growing up.
Chastain’s move has drawn both applause and criticism in the NASCAR world. While the maneuver looks bold, Kyle Larson is of the opinion that it done
“That’s not a good look for our sport. Maybe you guys think it’s cool. I think it’s pretty embarrassing.”
Kyle Larson wasn't a fan of what Ross Chastain did on the last lap.
"That's not a good look for our sport. Maybe you guys think it's cool. I think it's embarrassing." pic.twitter.com/7CNzcTDkLC
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) October 30, 2022
While Chastain might have booked himself a spot, it came at the cost of Denny Hamlin missing out on Championship 4, even though he led 203 of the race’s 500 laps.
As for Larson, he finished second in the race. The reigning champion was eliminated from the Round of 12.
That was a awesome move by Ross I care zero what Kyle says period.
That was the best finsh in nascar in 20 years mr Larson look at the score card hes in your out jaclass
I don’t understand the point system. It’s kind of stupid a driver wins 2 stages leads over 200 laps and does not make the playoffs.
So according to Larson, was that a Nig-“-r move?
Larson needs to jump off his high horse. He tried AND failed at that same move last year.