Ross Chastain has made a name for himself as one of the most aggressive drivers out on the track. Often seen wrecking and shoving cars out of his way, the watermelon man is certainly one of the more infamous faces in the Cup Series circuit.
However, his reputation also means that he can sometimes become the go-to scapegoat for any incident that happens on the track, despite it not being his fault. This was a topic of discussion in the latest episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast. During the conversation, Bubba Wallace‘s spotter Freddie Kraft bashed Denny Hamlin’s teammate for framing the Melon Man as the defaulter for incidents that have nothing to do with him.
Bubba Wallace’s spotter finds fault with Denny Hamlin’s teammate’s judgment
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Talking about Hamlin‘s teammate Christopher Bell, Freddie Kraft said, “He [Chastain] spun out drew a caution. Should have been penalized. Didn’t get penalized. 10 laps later he’s in the top five. But the way he got to the top five was, super aggressive restarts, blow through the corner, maybe knock couple of people out of the way, and get back to … That’s his job.”
“But like this one here, like he makes it three wide on the restart. [It’s] your job, you’re trying to go forward. And I don’t know, Christopher I assumed he knew he [Chastain] was there, but it sounded like Christopher didn’t know there was … probably a car width between him and Ross.
“He just misjudged how much room he had,” he concluded.
This was in response to Bell calling Chastain a “wrecking ball” after last Sunday’s race in Richmond.
Why did Christopher Bell call Ross Chastain a “wrecking ball” in Richmond
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During the race, it was Bell who wrecked William Byron. However, after the conclusion of the race, when asked about what happened between him and the #24, the JGR driver pointed fingers at Chastain.
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Bell told journalist Noah Lewis that Chastain aka the “wrecking ball” had crept up on him going three wide at the last second, adding that there wasn’t enough room to go through after that.
.@CBellRacing calls @RossChastain “The Wrecking Ball.”
Credits him as what caused the crash that sent the No. 24 for a spin. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/g3X894SYTO
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) April 2, 2023
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Bell later apologized to Byron on Twitter, saying, “After watching the replay, I saw there was much more room than what I thought in the heat of the moment. Sorry @WilliamByron.“ However, considering Chastain’s reputation of often being the wrecker, we can see why Bell tossed the blame on him.
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