The move is still on the table for this weekend’s championship race at Phoenix Raceway
Last week, Ross Chastain began the final lap at Martinsville Speedway from the 10th position. He then grabbed 5th gear, skipped the brake pedal for turn three and rode the wall at full throttle.
Ross Chastain rides wall at Martinsville; Passes 5 cars (Video)
The move has only ever been successful in the video game world of NASCAR racing. Yet, Chastain passed 5 cars, set the track record and clinched a spot in this week’s championship race.
The move completely destroyed the car. It’s not like the move is an option for any lap, except the final one.
NASCAR has stated they won’t add a new rule to prevent the move for this weekend’s championship race. However, they plan to discuss it in detail ahead of 2023.
Does that mean we’ll see every championship car ride the wall on the final lap at Phoenix, maybe.
Chase Elliott comment on the wall ride
“I think there’s a few factors to that in my opinion on it, but certainly commendable for a guy to do what he had to do to get the job done,” Chase Elliott said of the move.
“I totally respect that, and I think that that deserves some respect. But from just a global landscape of our sport, when you kind of step back and look at it, I think it is a bit embarrassing, really, when you step back and look at it. It’s like cutting the track at a road course isn’t acceptable, either.”
“NASCAR has put a lot of time and effort into making these cars equal, we’re suspending crew chiefs for weeks for pieces of vinyl being in the wrong place, you know, and then you go break the track record and run two seconds faster than everybody”
” You know, it’s just like from an integrity standpoint of what we do, is that proper? I don’t know, maybe not for me to say, but it certainly is interesting.”
NASCAR reacts to the wall ride by Ross Chastain at Martinsville
Ross Chastain reflects on the move
“There wasn’t much common sense in this,” Ross Chastain admitted of the move.
“And I think the difference in it being — Travis Pastrana said the difference between stupidity and brilliance is success. And this one is brilliant because we succeeded. Now why it worked? I don’t know.”
“There was a lot of luck involved. I’m not going to shy away from that,” Chastain explained.
“But I did have it — like from the time we took the white flag, I had it in my mind like you cannot leave the wall. Once I’m on the backstretch, I have to follow it. And it actually has more of a kick out and like a pocket, I’ll call it, in the [Turn] 3 than I even thought.”
“And I thought when I hit the wall, I hit it pretty hard on entry, which surprised me. I thought I could just kind of lay into it. And then when I walked the track on the way out that night I realized, kind of like Darlington Turn 3, … the wall goes away six or eight inches that I had never noticed before.”
Ross Chastain comments on if NASCAR should make a ‘wall ride’ rule
Links
Chase Elliott | Ross Chastain | Martinsville Speedway | NASCAR
