NASCAR legend called Ross Chastain to complement his ‘Hail Melon’ move
Ross Chastain shared the moment Leonard Wood called him to complement his so-called ‘hail melon’ move at Martinsville. Chastain was surprised to hear a NASCAR legend appreciated the move because he thought the older generation might not like it.
Chastain is a Florida native NASCAR Cup Series driver piloting the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing. He created the ‘hail melon’ move at Martinsville Speedway two years ago where he rode the wall at full speed all the way to the checkered flag, finishing P4 (from P10 before the move) and taking the final Championship 4 spot over Denny Hamlin.
In an interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Ross Chastain talked about Leonard Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing, telling him to call after the wall-riding move.
“What’s crazy is I just saw Mr. Allison (Bobby Allison) at Leonard Wood’s… Leonard Wood had his 90th birthday just a while back. And I rode up there to the shop for it and saw him,” Chastain shared. [0:18]
“They actually called me after the hail melon at Martinsville and they were excited. I kind of thought those older generations might not like it, and Leonard left me a voicemail like, so excited, ‘Call me back Ross.’ It was awesome.”
Ross Chastain concluded by saying:
“So I’ve gotten to know him and Bobby came by and… it was good to see him and talk to him a little bit.”
The hail melon move punched Ross Chastain’s first ticket to the Championship 4 in 2022. During the championship race at Phoenix Raceway, Chastain finished second among the Championship 4 drivers, with Joey Logano winning his second Cup Series championship.
Before the 2023 season, NASCAR decided to ban the wall-riding maneuver, in which Chastain took the honors of being the first and last driver to pull it off.
Ross Chastain shared feeling happy after missing NASCAR playoffs
After a back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series Playoff appearance, Ross Chastain missed the postseason this year. However, the 31-year-old driver seemed happier not being in playoff contention, saying the Netflix crew wasn’t following him to film him for the NASCAR documentary.
In a post-race interview at Kansas Speedway last September, Chastain said (via Cup Scene):
“I’ve never been so happy to watch y’all walk by, everybody in this room. I’ve never been so happy to watch Netflix walk the other way when I get there. Like, the boom mics are going that way. They’re following Daniel Suarez. They’re talking to Justin Marks, but none of it’s about me.” [9:50]
However, Ross Chastain noted he wasn’t against the film crew, saying he was the first to sign up for the documentary. The eight-generation watermelon farmer just loved it when they filmed other drivers instead.
"To be honest, I love it. I’m all for it. I’m the first one to sign up for Netflix. I’m the first one to sign up for interviews, but when they go the other way, I love it.”
He added:
"I will still sign up for every interview, and I will still go to New York on Tuesday. I’ll be in New York City Tuesday for some stuff with NASCAR. Was going there already and will still go. So, yeah, did I feel it? For sure."
The Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway witnessed Ross Chastain taking his first race win of the season. He notably fought Kyle Busch in the race as the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing driver was charging to try and extend his 19-year streak of winning one race in a season.