Video game move gets driver in NASCAR final 4

Glad I'm not racing online anymore, so I don't have to listen to the arguments...

I am not a NASCAR fan, but that was awesome!

I came here to post that too!. Its the second time he's tried some wild stuff, at indy on the road course he intentionally ran straight at turn one, attacked the slow down chicane, and beat the field out of turn three. It was legal as written but nascar penalized him after the race out of 2nd place.

Even Denny Hamlin, who lost his position in the final 4 because of it thought it was a pretty cool move.  Lots of grins all around.

The problem is not that he did it, it's when everyone else gives it a try.

I suspect there is a rule that is about to be created.

In reply to aircooled :

Chastain isn't the first to try it, just the only one who had it work.

In reply to racerfink :

The Darlington Stripe is something that dates back to the early 1960s.

Haven't followed NASCAR in years but that was pretty awesome.

People wanted excitement, they got excitement.  I'm really glad that worked out. 
 

I saw the video and just started laughing....... It was pretty awesome.

The camera shot that stayed on him looked like the old fashioned special effects for movie chase scenes where they just played it in fast forward.

I've followed NASCAR a long time and that was the coolest move I have witnessed.  Why the initial impact to the wall in turn three did not trigger a caution flag is a question that may come up.  Had the caution been displayed, immediately freezing the field, the plan would have failed and Hamlin is in.  Could be Race Control was as dumbstruck as the rest of us.

I may have to dig thru the telemetry data to see how much faster than the other cars chastain was running at the end of the back straight.

Even though it knocked out one of the cars that I have association with, the move was spectacular. This may lead to more crazy moves in the near future.

In reply to SuperDave :

From what I've seen, while they're normally very trigger-happy on the yellow flag, NASCAR seems to hesitate on the last lap to try and let things finish under green.

I thought it was hilarious, but I don't really want to see that become a weekly thing.  I like the idea of somebody in race control having a finger on the button to call caution when its an obvious send like that.  
Trying to write a specific rule to solve that is difficult, without affecting other, unrelated situations, but it's pretty easy to have one guy watching the entry to 3...

This won't become a regular thing.  Martinsville (and Darlington) is layed out in a way that it would be feasible to do this.  

I watched the highlights and just saw the points race change because NBC wasn't necessarily showing that move because why would they expect that.  His press conference was hilarious.  

In reply to jmabarone :

Agreed that Martinsville and Darlington layouts facilitate such a move.  I'm thinking you could add Bristol, Richmond, LA Coliseum ('23 Busch Clash) and North Wilkesboro ('23 All-Star Race) to the list.

In any case I suspect the simulators will get a lot of use over the next few days.

Ross is from SW Florida near me.  His home track was 417 in Punta Gorda, where I've done a few circle track races.  The whole area supports the guy and loves seeing him succeed wildly!

Surprised it was inspired by a GameCube NASCAR game, that's a classic Gran Turismo move

You don't try that in Assetto Corsa because a lot of tracks have "serrated walls" that look smooth but will catch your car and spit you across the track

I can't be the only one that thinks allowing crap like that stand in a big bucks pro series is ludicrous.

 Are full throttle blasts straight thru a chicane on the road courses the next great thing?

In reply to kevlarcorolla :

"Are full throttle blasts straight thru a chicane on the road courses the next great thing?"

Sadly, if it is determined that viewership increases, the answer is yes.

So when are they going to add jumps?