NASCAR have formally banned the Ross Chastain 'Hail Melon' wall-ride move at all tracks in time for the 2023 season. The Trackhouse Racing driver famously held the throttle wide open on the final corner of the semi-final Playoff elimination race at Martinsville in 2022, securing the spots he needed to advance to the Championship race in the process. Chastain received widespread acclaim for the move in the #1 machine, but NASCAR decided to look into the manoeuvre during the off-season, with eventual 2022 champion Joey Logano one of those keen to see the move banned. Starting with the exhibition Clash race on 5 February and then the official season-opener at the Daytona 500 two weeks later, the move will be banned at all tracks. It will be deemed unsafe going forward, with any driver attempting it set to receive a time penalty for their efforts. The move had been christened the 'Hail Melon' in a play of a 'Hail Mary' and Chastain's family background as a watermelon farmer in his native Florida.
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