NASCAR announced this week that the wall-riding maneuver Chastain successfully pulled off to qualify for the championship race would not be permitted moving forward.
At Martinsville, with under a lap to go, Ross Chastain needed to pass five cars to obtain enough ground to become one of the last four drivers proceeding to the season finale with a shot at the prestigious Cup Series title.
Ross Chastain did it, literally, with a video-game-like move, he explained later.
NASCAR declares there will be a time penalty for a “Chastain move” at all tracks
According to NASCAR’s rule book, “any violations deemed to compromise the safety of an event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of competitors, officials, spectators or others are treated with the highest degree of seriousness. Safety violations will be handed on a case-by-case basis.”
TrackHouse Racing Co-owner Justin Marks announced on Wednesday that the Ross Chastain “Hail Melon” car will be preserved as history.
“So, the good news is these cars are strong,” Justin Marks tweeted.
“Because of that, the Martinsville ‘wall car’ came back from the race with 90% of its parts re-usable. Which means keeping that car exactly as it came off the track as a show car would cost Trackhouse hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksTH) February 1, 2023
“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.”
“Ross’ move at Martinsville was a historic moment and should be preserved for the fans for years to come in physical form.”
Nascar fans were left delighted by Marks’s Tweet
Love that💪🏼
— Ryan Vargas (@RyanVargas_23) February 1, 2023
this is a HOF car, thank you for this
— bread perez (@bradxperez) February 1, 2023
Dude… You are a blessing to this sport! Thank you for not only understanding, but contributing to it's history. Your name will be forever remembered 🤜🏾🤛🏻
— kidkennyplaysdrums♨️ (@KidKenny) February 1, 2023
Thank you Justin! My bestie and I came to see it at the end of the 2022 season. I am so glad that many more fans will be able to see this amazing piece of Nascar highlights and history.
— 👁❤the👂🏻of🏎💨s (@Pixxydoodle) February 1, 2023
— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksTH) February 1, 2023