NASCAR driver Ross Chastain has been credited by some with single-handedly generating new interest in the sport after making one of the most ambitious overtakes ever seen.
The overtake happened over the weekend during NASCAR’s Xfinity 500. Heading into the final corner, Chastain somehow needed to jump from 10th position to 5th in order to advance to the next round of playoffs.
Overtaking five cars in a single corner would have been impossible had Chastain taken the normal line so he instead decided to pin the throttle and head straight for the wall. He then let go of the steering wheel and kept the throttle pinned, sliding around the wall at frightening speeds and somehow overtaking all of the cars that he needed to.
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“I can’t believe what I just saw.” #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Eqw7tyodZF
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 1, 2022
Speaking after the race, Chastain said he had first tried the overtake while playing NASCAR 2005 on his GameCube when he was a kid. He had no idea if it would work in real life but put the car into fifth gear and went for it.
The overtake quickly went viral on social media, generating tens of millions of views. A separate video shared by NASCAR to Twitter shows the responses of the other drivers who were around Chastain at the time of his banzai move. Most of them were left simply staggered by the overtake and just how successful it was.
Despite the obvious danger involved with such a move, NASCAR does not intend on banning such overtakes at other circuits on the calendar.
“Certainly within the rules, what he did, and was able to execute it,” NASCAR vice president Steve O’Donnell said. “As with anything you see of the first time, you have to take a look. We’ve had a number of discussions internally about that move and all the what ifs but that’s within the rules and believe that’s where we’ll be for Phoenix as well and then something we can definitely evaluate in the offseason.”
UNBELIEVABLE!@RossChastain floors it along the wall to go from 10th to 5th and advance to the CHAMPIONSHIP! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/9qX3eq7T6h
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 30, 2022