When Ross Chastain famously rode the wall at Martinsville Speedway in 2022 — a move dubbed the “Hail Melon” — it instantly became a viral moment. He pinned the wall through Turns 3 and 4 at full speed, picked off multiple cars, and locked himself into the Final Four for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. So, naturally, I wondered: is this possible in NASCAR 25?
The premise isn’t ridiculous or anything. After all, Chastain was inspired to do the gutsy maneuver because of it working in NASCAR 2005. And if it’s possible in real life, surely it’d be possible in iRacing Studio’s NASCAR 25, right?
Here were my findings.
My Attempt At The Hail Melon
I fired up NASCAR 25, selected Ross Chastain himself, and loaded into Martinsville. My goal was simple: replicate the iconic wall ride through the final corner. I skipped practice and qualifying just to ensure there would be cars in front of me. After building up speed and momentum, I finally attempted the move on Lap 3. What happened was admittedly a bummer.
In fact, the game’s physics model ensured that I actually lost speed while attempting Chastain’s signature wall ride. No matter how I approached it — beginning the wall ride late, early, etc. — the results were the same. Even when I managed to “graze” the wall in a way that looked right, the speed loss was immediate, and I came out of the corner slower than before.
It’s Probably For The Best
What many people don’t understand about Chastain’s infamous “Hail Melon” — likely because they’re either not fans of the sport or don’t religiously follow it — is that following the 2022 season, NASCAR immediately got worried about other drivers attempting to replicate the maneuver and banned it for all future seasons.
As far as I can tell, disqualifications only happen in NASCAR 25 for driving the wrong way or speeding into the pit lane — speeding against the wall doesn’t seem to be an infraction. On top of that, the game has an online component, so all attempts to wall ride at short ovals (or any ovals for that matter) are likely nerfed to prevent online play from being any more of a cluster than it already is.
On one hand, the “Hail Melon” isn’t allowed in real-life NASCAR. On the other hand, NASCAR 25‘s online component could suffer if it were actually possible. Therefore, it’s probably for the best that you can’t pull it off in the game.
