Posted on 10/31/2022 3:51:55 AM PDT by mabarker1
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Ross Chastain was trying to comprehend what he had done nearly an hour after his video game move upended the Cup playoffs and thrilled a sold-out Martinsville Speedway while also leaving some drivers uneasy about such a maneuver and NASCAR officials pondering a possible rule change to make sure it never happens again.
“It’s sinking in the we did something that no one else has ever done,” Chastain said of his last-lap, rim-riding run.
But what to call the wall-hugging move was too difficult a question for him to answer.
“I’ll check the Internet,” he said.
It was easier, instead, for him to answer how he drove his car into the wall as fast as he could.
“It was fight or flight,” Chastain explained.
Chastain was two points behind Denny Hamlin for the final transfer spot to next week’s championship race on the last lap. Chastain was too far behind to gain those two positions so he put his car into fifth gear on the backstretch, planted his Chevrolet against the wall, took his hands off the wheel and let the wall guide his vehicle around the final quarter mile while he floored the throttle.
“My brain could not comprehend, my bandwidth was shot when I entered (Turn) 3 and I grabbed fifth gear,” Chastain said. “Everything went blurry. I couldn’t comprehend it.”
It’s understandable why. Data from Chastain’s car reveals that its peak speed through Turns 3 and 4 on the last lap was 50 mph faster than a normal lap.
Cole Custer, who was trailing Chastain, told NBC Sports that he originally thought the No. 1 Chevrolet lost its brakes until he realized what Chastain was doing.
“That was crazy,” Custer said. “He’s got some balls. That was cool.”
Chastain’s car appeared to be going at a cartoonish rate of speed compared to the rest of the field.
He passed five cars between Turn 3 and the finish line to gain enough points to beat Hamlin for a chance to race Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Martinsville winner Christopher Bell for the championship Nov. 6 at Phoenix Raceway.
“How did that work?” Chastain later said of his move.
However it did, it made for the fastest lap a stock car has ever run at Martinsville Speedway, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The track record was 18.954 seconds. Chastain’s final lap was 18.845 seconds.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/exclusive-ross-chastain-s-in-car-camera-of-his-last-lap-video-game-move/vi-AA13zfaQ
Crazy Ping
I’ve been watching Racing for 50+ years and have never seen anything like this done on purpose or accidentally.
I’ll bet hamlin is behind the possible Rules Change/Addition.
Got my heart rate up just watching.
Have always wanted to do that on my afternoon commute.
That’s the kind of racing move that fans want, and the sport needs to have to bring fans back.
All the Earnhardt moves, the pass in the grass, etc. made him a legend.
Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison taking each other out in the final lap of the 1979 Daytona 500 are things that made the sport.
Hopefully Nascar sees that.
LOL !!!
There were a few times I could have used that move while driving auto parts deliveries back in the 70’s in Houston.
I fully agree.
But I also have full confidence that NUTSCAR will continue to screw things up.
What they should do is put that car on display in the Hall of Fame in Charlotte...
If I was Trackhouse Racing it would go on display at the shop.
Craziest thing ever seen in all my years watching. Denny Hamlin must be in shock therapy today.
Yeah, he didn’t have much to say at the end of the Race, he may need an extended session.
That was the damnedest thing I ever saw!! I was setting there and all I could say was DAYUMMMMM!! Hamlin was pissed!!
Maybe Ross was just trying to take some of the heat off of blubba’s faux paw.
Bubbles was strangely quiet!!
He may only be allowed to talk if MJ or hamlin give him written approval, kinda like brandon at a press conference.
Carl Edwards tried a similar move against Jimmie Johnson by going into turn 4 full throttle and bouncing off the wall.
He said it worked on the sim but needed some tweaking to use it in real life LOL
It seems as Ross, practiced it more on the SIM and perfected in the real world.
BAck in the day, before racing SIMS, it was slot car racing.
Peg it against the rail.
First, it's an abuse of the safety systems that are put in place to protect drivers. Those SAFER barriers are intended to protect drivers from the impacts of harsh crashes. They are not to be used like a pinball chute that plunges a car around a corner to bounce off of other cars at the other end of the curve.
Chastain misused the safety protections for purposes other than what was intended.
Second, if a driver misused a safety system required to be installed inside cars in order to gain a competitive advantage, NASCAR would disqualify that driver. So why allow a driver to misuse a safety system that is installed on a track for competitive advantage? A driver should be disqualified for doing that, too.
I don't think Chastain would say that he had complete control of his car while he was plunging around the track. That's reckless and a potential danger to the other drivers.
What if Chastain happened to rip up one of those SAFER barriers as he was hurtling around the corner and then another driver behind him lost control and hit the now-compromised barrier? That barrier was there for one intended purpose, to protect drivers from the impacts of crashes.
I'm not suggesting that NASCAR should take any retroactive actions against Chastain for his move, as there were probably no rules in place at the time.
But going forward, NASCAR must unequivocally state that the safety systems must not be used for any competitive purposes and are there strictly as a protective system. Any future misuses of safety systems, whether in the cars or on the tracks, will result in an immediate disqualification of the driver, and possible future penalties as well.
-PJ
Centrifuged 101 ?
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