While team Elliott fanboys and team Chastain fanboys fight against each other over who the most popular driver in the NASCAR Cup Series is, the latter has qualified for the 2023 playoffs while the former has not. From breaking Gibson guitars to wrecking the outside wall at Martinsville Speedway with a never-before-seen move, this Trackhouse icon had done it all.

The sole survivor of the seasonal races from Trackhouse Racing Team, Ross Chastain is set to unfold his postseason run as Darlington inches closer. However, a throwback to last year’s playoff rumble might intrigue his fans into wondering if something like that would happen again. Ross Chastain had the answer to it.

Ross Chastain is perhaps getting too old for his on-track skirmishes

The entire NASCAR community knows the Melon man to be an ‘I-don’t-care-I-am-not-here-to-make-friends’ type of driver. He ‘chastains’ anyone who dares to block his way. But lately, he seems to have gotten softer as the on-track squabbles have not really appeared on NASCAR headlines since he punched Noah Gragson right in the face. As the round of 16s approaches, it is normal for a Chastain fan to expect some of that action to come back.

In a pre-qualifying interview, a reporter asked if Ross Chastain had any Bonzai moves to get into the next round. To which, the #1 Chevrolet star responded negatively.

“No sir, no more up these sleeves! It’s just go scrap up as many points as we can and see what we’ve got at the end of each elimination race,” he said.

Reflecting back to his video game move from Martinsville, Chastain said, “I don’t know if we have enough tape! I think there’s a lot of things I could have done better.”

Watch this story: 7 Worst Wrecks Involving Ross Chastain That Proved Detrimental to His Rivals

“There’s a lot of things that I’m grateful…that went the way they did. And I learned from all of it. So how do I think it went? I think it went exactly how it was supposed to. Now we have a shot for 10 weeks to go fight for this thing,” he added. But did this video game move that Ross Chastain is so famous for, skip the radars of NASCAR?

Last year, NASCAR outlawed Ross Chastain’s move to get into Championship 4

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Throwback to 2022, Ross Chastain ran his Chevy into the wall around turn 3 and leveraged the wall to gain momentum. With the boost from his gas, baked with the groove advantage and the wall trajectory, Ross Chastain passed five contenders in the last couple of turns and gained enough spots to make it into the Championship race.

Many drivers were awestruck, while others opined that Chastain’s act was a breach of NASCAR rules and regulations. According to NBC Sports, NASCAR said that Rule 10.5.2.6.A, covers such situations.

The aforementioned rule states: “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.”

Ross Chastain too whirled his head around when he looked at the replays and wondered what was going inside his head when he did that. However, nobody can deny that a single move from Martinsville brought Chastain worldwide fame.

Read more: “Now Everytime I Sneeze It’s a Story”- Ross Chastain Refuses to Apologize for the Shift in Media Perception Since His Major Cup Series Success Last Season