By now, you probably know the name Ross Chastain. And if you don’t know him by name, chances are you still recall his masterful theatrics at Bristol Motor Speedway last year when he slingshot his car around the 0.526-mile track to pass five cars in just a few seconds to secure his spot in the championship race.
But before Chastain had the world in awe with his daring move, he won his first NASCAR Cup Series race earlier in 2022 at Circuit of The Americas, an Austin road course.
And Friday, the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet driver celebrated the one-year anniversary of that win in the most quintessential Ross Chastain way: A watermelon smash.
When Chastain wins a race, his signature celebratory move is to smash a watermelon, often from the top of his race car. A nod to his watermelon-farming roots, he did this before he made it to the Cup Series and continued his smashing for his first two victories (so far) at NASCAR’s highest level.
So ahead of the Cup Series’ return COTA for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, Chastain smashed another watermelon to commemorate his first Cup win. Only this time, he smashed the watermelon by dropping it from the top of the track’s 251-foot observation tower.
It’s about to go down…
🍉🍉🍉 pic.twitter.com/mshQZ7vbRQ
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) March 24, 2023
THERE IT GOES! 🍉 pic.twitter.com/psYmW8zFnb
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) March 24, 2023
Crushed it. 🍉 @RossChastain | @WWEXRacing | @TeamChevy pic.twitter.com/Ytm14gO90m
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) March 24, 2023
If you’re asking: Why a watermelon? The answer is simple.
Now nicknamed the “Melon Man,” Chastain is an eighth-generation watermelon farmer — or he was, until his racing career began to take off. But watermelon farming is still the family business in Florida, and watermelon-smashing has long been part of his race-winning celebrations as a nod to his roots. (It also means he has a watermelon on-hand at races just in case.)
About his signature celebration, Chastain told For The Win in 2019:
“I always wanted to bring watermelons with me, and they are a big part of why I’m here, no doubt about it. I knew companies, and I went to them and said, ‘I want to be the farmer in NASCAR,’ and they liked it.
“So then from there, we just wanted to do something, and I just held [a watermelon] at Vegas in my first NASCAR win. And then we were talking about it in the media center, and I was like, ‘I’ve gotta do something with this watermelon! I’ve gotta go smash it.’ I just want people to remember it and think of [agriculture] and watermelons when they see me.”
Here’s another look at his COTA watermelon smash:
@jeffgluck Stand clear of rhe Melon Man’s splat zone! 🍉 💥
New melon just dropped pic.twitter.com/LWFxk5CbNc
— Elizabeth Blackstock (@eliz_blackstock) March 24, 2023
