While drivers like Richard Petty, Tony Stewart, or Kyle Busch have interesting nicknames, such as The King, Smoke, or Rowdy, Ross Chastain’s stands out for a very different reason.

Known as the “Melon Man,” the Trackhouse Racing driver’s nickname often attracts attention when mentioned. Now, years after he got the moniker, Chastain comes up to reveal the backstory behind it.

Chastain sat with Jeff Gluck of The Athletic for his 12-question segment to talk about his connection with watermelon and how he brought the fruit and smashed it first in 2018 after winning the DC Solar 300 in Las Vegas. However, he was worried about his grandfather, not taking the waste of food lightly.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. Honestly, I was worried my grandfather would be upset," Chastain told Gluck. "He grew up in a time when you didn’t waste food. If you threw food on the ground at Granddaddy’s house, you’d be in big trouble."

Notably, Chastain comes from a family that grew watermelon for generations. Chastain and his brother, Chad, are the eighth generation to farm watermelons. They operate JDI Farms in South Carolina and promote Melon1 to market and sell their watermelons.

"I called him (grandfather) about an hour later (after the first smash) and told him what happened. They looked it up on Facebook and saw it. He was super excited. He said we’d never know how many people saw watermelons that day and how many extra got sold," Chastain further added.

But long before he broke his first one, Chastain and team still carried a lot of watermelons to the track. Reason? The more people see it, the more it helps in marketing.

Since that race in 2018, Ross Chastain has smashed a watermelon after every race win. He would step up on top of a car, look at the fans in the grandstands, and smash the watermelon on the ground joyfully.

But why does he really do it?

When Ross Chastain explained how he got the thought of doing it

Chastain finally opened up about the viral tradition where he smashes a watermelon after every victory. Speaking to the media in May 2022, Chastain revealed:

“So, my brother and I are eighth-generation watermelon farmers. I just wanted to raise agriculture up and use my platform to spotlight it when I had the opportunity. I thought of no better way than Victory Lane.

"The very first time I won in NASCAR, I just sat it down because I didn’t know what to do with it, and actually a media member asked what I was going to do with it. I said, ‘I don’t know, probably just bust it open and eat it.’”

Chastain is currently racing for Trackhouse under a full-time obligation and drives the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. After 16 races into the 2026 season, Chastain is in 23rd place in the Drivers' Standings.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason