Carl Edwards had his famous backflip. Tony Stewart climbed the fence. Alan Kulwicki did the Polish Victory Lap (so did Fred Zack, but that’s another story).
But none of them smashed a watermelon.
Nope. That’s reserved for Florida native Ross Chastain — the fastest watermelon farmer around, and the latest first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner.
“It’s what the Chastain family has been in for 12 generations,” said the 29-year-old, who drove his Chevy to a win last Sunday at Circuit of The Americas. “My first truck ride was a watermelon paint scheme. When I was coming into the sport, nobody knows who Ross Chastain is, so we had to just go out into the ‘ag’ industry and talk to people we knew.”
They may not have known back then, but people in and around the sport certainly know who Chastain is now.
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The Alva native is in the midst of a breakout season with Trackhouse Racing — the second-year organization formed by Justin Marks and Pitbull.
Not only did Chastain win in dramatic fashion at COTA — moving AJ Allmendinger out of the way on the final turn to take the checkers — but he’s finished no worse than third in four of the six races this season.
But why does Ross Chastain have to smash a watermelon when he wins?
But back to those watermelons …
After every win — Chastain has six between the Truck, Xfinity and Cup Series — someone from his pit crew hands him a watermelon, which he then smashes to the ground from the roof of his car.
It started with his first NASCAR win in an Xfinity car back in 2018, and has traveled with him ever since.
Actually traveled.
“I’ve bought them when I’ve landed (at a race) if we didn’t have them,” Chastain said. “Usually, for this crew, Roy, our truck driver, buys groceries for the hauler every week so he makes sure to buy a watermelon every weekend. He puts it right in the hallway (of the hauler), right in the lounge, so when we walk by we see it.
“My guys know what that means, too. It’s not just a watermelon sitting there. It’s a symbol of our goal, which is to win.”
If Chastain doesn’t win — he was 0-for-120 in Cup going into Sunday’s race — the trophy watermelon stays in the lounge for up to six weeks, Chastain said. After that, the team tosses it (or eats it), and replaces it with a fresh one the next week.
Of course, there have been some close calls, too.
“I’ve left it in my rental car before,” Chastain recalled. “And I almost won a truck race last year, and it was in the rental car. I actually thought about it during a late caution. Nobody was going to know where it was at, and I was going to have to try and describe on the radio where my keys were — well, they’re in the hauler in my pants pocket in the locker.
“Now, go out to the parking lot — well, I didn’t know if it was the fourth or fifth row. It’s a white Chevy Malibu, just like every other rental car. So yeah, that was going to be challenging.”
Chastain didn’t end up winning that race, but he closed the deal last weekend at COTA, overcoming a shaky final lap — Allmendinger moved him out of the way to briefly take the lead before Chastain repaid the favor — to win his first career Cup race.
The only downfall? He’ll have to get a new watermelon for Sunday’s race at Richmond.
“It’s an awesome feeling, man,” Chastain said. “Yeah, it’s just been awesome. This is what we do it for, this is why we grind, to get to this spot. It feels really, really good.”