Why does Ross Chastain celebrate his victories by smashing a watermelon?

Ross Chastain is having a great season in this 2022 Nascar Cup Series, where he not only won two races (the GEICO 500 at Talladega and the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Austin), but he is also one of the drivers fighting for the championship of the current Nascar season, which can be seen in the United States through FuboTV (free trial).

At both Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega and Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Ross Chastain celebrated his victory in a somewhat peculiar way. Unique in his style. After making the traditional donuts on the track for being the winner of the race, Ross Chastain gets out of the car and waits for someone from his team to bring him the object with which he does his “victory ritual”.

That object is none other than a watermelon. Chastain gets on the roof of his car and from there he throws it hard towards the track, breaking the fruit into pieces. Once this is done, the pilot born in Florida takes some of the pieces and eats it, completing his curious ritual of celebration. Where does this come from? Here we tell you.

Chastain’s Celebration

In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Chastain explained: “We carried around watermelons for years. In 2018, when we won our first race in the Xfinity series, they asked what I was going to do with it, so I said, ‘If I smash it up, I’m going to eat it,’ so they videotaped it, and it became our own little viral moment”. And added “I said, I’d smash one after every win”.

This ritual doesn’t just have to do with that video in which he promised to make that curious celebration every time he won a race. There is also a deep meaning that relates to the origins of Chastain and his family’s business, which supported Ross‘ career in motorsports.

“Even if someone is watching in a restaurant, and the sound is muted, and it’s halfway across the restaurant, and they just happen to look over and see this guy doing a smoky burnout and just smashed a watermelon … He’ll say, ‘Maybe I’ll buy one when I go to the grocery store tomorrow’, then I’ve done my job’’, Chastain concluded.