NASCAR Officially Bans Ross Chastain's Unbelievable Martinsville Move

It was one of the most memorable moments of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season but don't expect to see any more wall-riding moves like Ross Chastain's Hail Melon at Martinsville.

As cool as it was, it's now banned.

Chastain pulled the video game move last season on the final lap of the Xfinity 500 to punch his ticket to Championship 4.

Man, that video never gets old. Talk about licking the stamp and sending it.

However, as thrilling as it was, NASCAR has put the kibosh on other drivers giving it a go.

The Hail Melon helped Ross Chastain and Trachouse Racing make their first appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Chastain's Hail Melon Is Now Illegal

NASCAR released some rule changes for the upcoming season, one of them is Rule 10.5.2.6.A. It Reads as follows: “Safety is a top priority for NASCAR and NEM. Therefore, 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 handled on a case-by-case basis.”

There's an awful lot of latitude in there, but it's being reported that the Hail Melon falls under this. Any driver who runs afoul of this new addition to the NASCAR rulebook could face either a lap or a time penalty.

Chastain was the first to give a move like that a whirl, he just made it work. Kyle Larson used the same tactic at Darlington in 2021, it just didn't pan out. You can definitely see why NASCAR would want to nip this one in the bud as soon as possible. I think if they hadn't done anything, we'd see it happen more frequently.

That's not the only rule change coming this season. Stage cautions will be a thing of the past ... on road courses. those races will still feature stage points, however, the green-checkered flag won't wave and there won't be a caution.

NASCAR says the hope is that this change will open up some new pit strategy opportunities.

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