It might be one of the only times that hitting the wall might have resulted in something positive for a NASCAR driver.
Ross Chastain secured a spot in the Championship 4 in Phoenix after pulling off a ridiculous move at Martinsville Speedway, riding the wall through two turns and beating out Denny Hamlin. The move put Chastain in position for a championship run this Sunday.
Of course, while witnesses were dazzled by the gutsy move, drivers on the track were just as impressed. NASCAR team comms revealed some drivers were stunned by the No. 1 car’s intestinal fortitude, with Denny Hamlin among those to react:
“I can’t believe what I just saw.” #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Eqw7tyodZF
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2022
MORE: Meet the Championship 4 drivers in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs
The reactions of the drivers from that video:
No. 22 car (Joey Logano):
Team: “Ross rode the fence outside of you — outside, outside, outside. Holy cow. I guess it does work.”
Logano: “Holy s—. You see that? Laughs. Oh my God.”
No. 14 car (Chase Briscoe):
Team: “Oh my God, coming to the checkered flag. I can’t believe what I just saw.”
Briscoe: “That was literally the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Team: “That was straight video game.”
Briscoe: “That was incredible.”
No. 45 car (Bubba Wallace):
Team: “Watch it — the 1 ripping the outside wall in the fence. Holy s—. Unbelievable.”
Wallace: “Wow.”
Team: “I’m pretty sure he got in with that.”
“That’s the damndest thing I’ve ever seen the 1 do.”
No. 43 car (Erik Jones):
Jones: “The f— was the 1 doing?”
Team: “He was trying to play hold it wide open and go.”
“He did it.”
“That is insane.”
Jones: “He actually passed people doing that?”
Team: “Yeah, he got in the final four doing that.”
Jones: “Holy s—.”
No. 9 car (Chase Elliott):
Team: “Coming to checkered, gap of one. Cover your bottom up off — what in the hell? We’re in. Good job. He put it on the fence and went wide open there. I don’t know if he beat the — yeah, he did. He beat the freakin’ … he beat the 11.”
No. 11 car (Denny Hamlin):
Team: “Watch the 1 outside of you here, outside, outside outside, outside.”
Hamlin: “I guess we just lost on that?”
Team: “Well, I’ve never seen anything like it but, Bell wins. He’s in. And the 1 Hail Mary-ed the fence in (turns) 3 and 4 and got it. Wow.”
Hamlin: “I did all I could do, Chris.”
No. 1 car (Ross Chastain):
Team: “Need two spots here.”
Chastain: “Got to get ’em?”
Team: “Yeah, got to get ’em. Need two.”
“Keep comin’, keep comin’. Hang on, man. Checkered flag. Nice and easy. Keep it up against the fence there.”
Chastain: “Talk to me, boys.”
Team: You made the transfer — you made the transfer, man! That was f—ing ridiculous, dude! That was wild, man! That was wild.”
Chastain: “Holy cow. Oh my God.”
Team: “I don’t know how long you’ve been sitting on that move, but that was f—ing incredible.”
“Dude, that was badass. Good job, guys.”
As Chastain angles for his first Cup Series Championship, here’s to the No. 1 car having a little bit more “badass” in him come this weekend in Phoenix.
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