NASCAR Cup driver Ross Chastain confounded the laws of physics and our disbelieving eyes with his incredible last-lap move at Martinsville.
In his four full-time seasons in the series, 29 year-old Ross Chastain has firmly established himself as the wild child of NASCAR Cup. Known for his bold, risky, and often controversial moves on the track—many of them not so popular with his fellow Cup drivers—the Trackhouse Racing driver successfully pulled one off at Martinsville this past weekend that is destined to appear on NASCAR highlight reels from here on out.
With one lap to go and a spot in the final Championship 4 on the line, Chastain was jammed up back in 12th place with a tangle of cars in front of him led by Christopher Bell. You’ll need to watch the video below to believe what happened next: Diving hard into Turn 3, he laid his Chevy Camaro against the outside SAFER barrier, stood on the gas, and rode the wall all the way though Turns 3 and 4 to drive around the field and nip Denny Hamlin for fifth place at the finish line, securing his playoff spot.
NBC announcer Dale Earnhardt Jr. called it “a video game move.”
“I have never seen anything like that before in my life,” said a stunned Jeff Burton.
Courtesy of NASCAR, here’s the video of the final lap.
Some serious testicular fortitude right there. Might have to watch this spec racing series again.
A classic Hudson maneuver in the early ’50s.
With a frame rail running outside the rear wheel ran high and hard in contact with the Armco barrier.