NASCAR Bans Driver Ross Chastain’s Martinsville Wall-Hugging Move

Ross Chastain
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

Tuesday, NASCAR announced that the wall-hugging move by driver Ross Chastain at the 2022 Martinsville Cup playoff race would be banned from use from this point forward.

During the Oct. 30 race last year, Chastain drove his No. 1 Chevrolet up against the outside wall and gunned it taking him from tenth to fifth place in the final lap. It was a move that brought some complaints from other drivers, but officials sanctioned the move at the time, allowing Chastain to take his place as one of the finalists to go on to the Nov. 6 finale at Phoenix Raceway, NBC Sports reported.

NASCAR noted that it has not created a new rule but insists that its standing rule 10.5.2.6.A will now be read to cover the Martinsville move. Officials call it a matter of safety.

“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,” rule 10.5.2.6.A reads.

If another driver were to try the move, NASCAR said it would penalize him with a lap or added time.

For his part, Chastain said he is pleased to be associated with the move despite it being outlawed.

“I’m proud that I’ve been able to make a wave that will continue beyond just 2022 or just beyond me,” Chastain told NBC Sports. “There will be probably a day that people will learn about me because of that, and I’m good with that. I’m proud of it.”

“I don’t think it will ever happen again. I don’t think it will ever pay the reward that it paid off for us that it did that day. I hope I’m around in 35 years to answer someone’s question about it. And I probably still won’t have a good answer on why it worked,” he added.

The Martinsville move may have faced complaints, but many drivers, including Formula 1 drivers Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, and Daniel Ricciardo, praised Chastain for his inventiveness.

Chastain’s Martinsville race was one of the most-viewed sporting events of 2022 online. NBC noted it earned more than 12 million views on its TikTok sports channel of the race ending featuring Chastain’s move.

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