Published 02/08/2023, 10:12 AM EST
Perhaps one of the biggest and certainly, one of the most infuriating news to come out of NASCAR as of late was the rule change which meant Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon move was effectively banned. The instantly legendary move was well received by almost every single person associated and not associated with the sport. But there were some, like Kyle Larson, to whom it wasn’t all that appealing as he made clear after the Martinsville race.
More recently, Freddie Kraft, the spotter of Bubba Wallace, sort of seemed to applaud the decision to put an end to such ambitious and dangerous moves on the racetrack simply because of the high chance of disaster they might end up fetching.
Kraft, in a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, described, “I think we need to protect these guys from themselves, especially in this each other. If you let them continue to hurt themselves, they’re gonna continue to do it.”
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Having said that, he also raised an important question, one which involved the other critic of the move, Kyle Larson – “The thing about that rule…a place like Darlington, how does that rule get applied?”
May 9, 2021; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) passes Alex Bowman (48) during the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Freddie Kraft raises important Kyle Larson question after Hail Melon’s ban
The spotter further described how a situation could arise at a track like Darlington when, even if a driver isn’t actually trying something like Chastain did, he might end up appearing that way.
“If you slide in the corner, you’re coming to the checkered, you’re racing the f**k out of somebody, you slide in the corner, you get in the fence, you’re not gonna stop and like, ‘Oh I better get off the wall here.’ You’re gonna continue on,” Kraft said. “Is that illegal now?”
“We’ve seen it before, somebody tried it last year, two years ago, (Kyle) Larson, I think it was. I’m assuming that’s illegal now, right?”
MARTINSVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 29: Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Xfinity 500 on October 29, 2022 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kraft also commented on the grey areas in the recent wave of NASCAR rule changes, and how, by leaving certain things unclear, NASCAR might attract pretty serious allegations to itself.
“The words, ‘maybe’ a penalty, should never show up in the rule book. I hate that, like ‘could be a penalty’, ‘maybe a penalty’, it should be, ‘this is a penalty’ or ‘this is not a penalty’, because now you’re opening yourself up to so many implications of favoritism,” he added.
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What was Larson’s reaction to the Hail Melon move?
Among the very few who opposed Ross Chastain’s audacious feat from the very beginning was Kyle Larson. The #5 driver, who, as mentioned before, had attempted a similar move himself a season prior, was pretty vocal about it not being a good look for the sport and racing.
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“It doesn’t take any talent to floor it against the wall and go two seconds quicker than the field,” Larson said according to USA Today. “I don’t think that’s fair. It’s not fair at all.”
Larson added that his opinion on the move doesn’t mean he has anything personal against Chastain. He accepted that the move was “crazy,” “awesome”, and brave. But still, his opinion doesn’t change.
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“It could be anyone in the field to pull that move, and I would have felt the same way about it,” the 2021 Cup champion added. “It’s not fair racing.”