If we were to remember Martinsville’s greatest controversies, Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon move from the 2022 race takes the top spot. The #1 car, desperate to progress to Phoenix, drove scraping the wall as it gave him the speed to go past everyone and take a spot in the Championship 4. And it was thrilling to watch the ‘video game’ move! NASCAR initially allowed it and Chastain ended the season with a P2. However, in 2023, the racing organization, upon taking a deeper look at it, decided to ban the move.

According to them, it compromised the safety of other drivers on the track. And in the 2024 Martinsville race, the same intensity of racing and the same desperation to compete for a championship led to a ‘Hail Melon 2.0’. However, this time by Christopher Bell. The controversial move made things even more dramatic in the high-octane race. Also, how could a controversy erupt at Martinsville and Ross Chastain stay out of it?

NASCAR’s stand on race manipulation at Martinsville

Clearly, NASCAR had a lot on their plates at the eliminator as Christopher Bell and William Byron fought for the final spot in the championship 4. The two drivers were 3rd and 4th entering the race with Bell +29 points and Byron +7 points above the cutline. As we neared the end, Byron in P5 was leading by +2 points above the #20 in 19th place. However, Denny Hamlin, with 14 laps to go passed Byron for 5th, reducing the points gap to +1. This opened up an opportunity for Bell.

The #20 at the very last straightway passed Bubba Wallace and took the 18th position to tie the points. A tie meant that the Joe Gibbs driver would progress, as according to NASCAR, in a situation of a tie-breaker, the driver having a better finish in any race of round 3 would go to the next round. And Bell’s P2 finish in Las Vegas had him set for a third consecutive championship 4 appearance. However, while passing the #23, Bell got loose, hit the wall, and ran up against it, leading to him getting a penalty and William Byron progressing. However, according to some recent radio conversations, it has come to notice that other drivers aided Bell and Byron in their battle for the spot.

While nothing is official, there is a possibility that Ross Chastain and Austin Dillion deliberately blocked the cars behind them to help their Chevy teammate. Had Byron dropped another position, it would have led to the #24 getting eliminated. While the gap between Hamlin and Byron increased as they held P5 and P6, Chastain and Dillon comfortably raced side by side behind the #24, as though blocking Brad Keselowski from going past Byron. And also on the other front, Bubba Wallace’s car rapidly slowed down when Bell made the pass at the end to tie the points. Although Wallace reported issues with the tire, nothing is confirmed, if his car really had a problem or if it was a deliberate move.

However, NASCAR has made it clear that only at a later stage will they dwell on the possible case of race manipulation. NASCAR Vice President Elton Sawyer, post the race, said, “If you look at the other situations that will go on 23 and cars behind in the 24. Really no bearing at this time. We will look at those at a later time and really dissect exactly what happened with the situation of the 20 getting up against the fence and then riding the to fence which we have clearly stated in our statement after Ross (Chastain) did that, that would not be accepted.”

But shouldn’t this matter be looked at first? If this proves to be a case of race manipulation, it could significantly alter things. Especially after some radio conversations of the #1 and the #3 are making rounds pointing towards it. However, throughout Elton’s interview, he stayed put on his stance, not dwelling deeper on the matter.

NASCAR shying away from possible race manipulation in Martinsville

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The championship journey for Christopher Bell is over, as JGR cannot even protest NASCAR’s ruling since it’s a race violation and not appealable. However, if there was proof of manipulation in the race, would things change? Well, at the moment NASCAR is clearly trying to avoid the matter as it could lead to complexities. Elton Sawyer, further in the interview, refused to comment on hypothetical situations.

He said, “The hypotheticals is really difficult. I don’t want to be making statements of things, ifs, ands and buts. I don’t want to do that. Like I said, the main focus for us in the tower, when the situation happened, was focusing on the 20 [Bell] car. Let’s figure out where are we at there. To me and our team, there was focus more on that than the other stuff.”

However, in the end, he did acknowledge manipulation being there when he said, “The other stuff was there, don’t get me wrong. The 20 rose to the level that. We got to figure this one out pretty quick.” But, even in the case of there being a race manipulation, it’s unlikely that things will change for Byron and Bell.

Precedence has shown that Chastian, Dillon, and Wallace might get penalized but the ones that benefited from it remain unharmed. How it happened in the case of Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe in the 2022 season. At the Charlotte race, Custer was found to have blocked drivers behind him for Briscoe to gain two spots and progress to round 3 of the playoffs. While Custer was fined $100,000 and stripped 50 points, Briscoe was let off the hook, as it was found that he was unaware of Custer’s intentions.

The same might happen in this case, leaving the championship 4 intact, with Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney (after winning Martinsville), and William Byron. Whatever the final verdict may be, it is clear that NASCAR’s race control has a huge stain to wipe off with the race manipulation allegations. What do you think about this matter? Share your comments with us in the comments down below.