Ross Chastain teases Kyle Larson online about 'Fail Melon' move at Darlington 2021

Everyone knows about the famous Hail Melon move that Ross Chastain made last year at Martinsville – but Kyle Larson tried it first. Larson was running second to Denny Hamlin in the 2021 Southern 500 and coming into the last turn, decided to put it on the wall and try to pass him high. It didn’t work at all for the NASCAR driver.

While Ross Chastain wasn’t making a move for the win, he did successfully do what he set out to accomplish. Coming into Turn 3, he had to get two spots by the finish line at the .526-mile-long track. He picked up way more than that, and he was actually able to pass Denny Hamlin.

With Darlington coming up, NASCAR on NBC decided to share a little throwback from that 2021 race. It shows Larson right on the wall trying to pass Hamlin with everything he had.

“I tried to video game it,” Larson said on the radio. Well, Chastain saw the video and apparently is still feeling a little bit of animosity towards Larson for their incidents this season.

“The fail melon,” Chastain nicknamed the move by Larson.

the fail melon 🍉 https://t.co/Ojp0SxhA13

— Ross Chastain (@RossChastain) August 31, 2023

Going back to that fateful day at Martinsville, the Hail Melon was the shot heard around the world from NASCAR. Ross Chastain wasn’t just a star in his own sport, he broke through motorsports and into the pop culture zeitgeist. People were talking about NASCAR like it was 2003 again.

Let’s watch it again, just to remind ourselves how impressive it is that he pulled it off.

The Hail Melon. 🍉

No doubt about it: @RossChastain's last-lap move to make the championship was the top moment of the @NASCAR season. pic.twitter.com/6N1kWc5Hnj

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) December 31, 2022

Given that Kyle Larson tried the same move basically just a year before, why was he so upset last year when Ross Chastain did it? Let’s revisit those comments ahead of this weekend. The rivalry no one is talking about.

Kyle Larson called Ross Chastain move ’embarrassing’

It was very interesting to see the reactions to Ross Chastain’s move last year. He did it in a spontaneous moment, back against the wall so-to-speak, and he pulled it off. That was the best move all year, the moment of the year, and it led to Chastain’s earning a Championship Four appearance and a runner-up finish on the year.

However, Larson was not amused by the move. With the “Fail Melon” in our minds now, let’s revisit those comments again. To his credit, Larson blamed himself and his move at Darlington for it.

“It’s just a bad look,” Larson told reporters at the time. “I’m embarrassed that I did it at Darlington. Maybe if I didn’t do it last year, people wouldn’t even think to do that, so I’m embarrassed myself and glad that I didn’t win that way (at Darlington). It’s not just a good look. Not a good look. … It’s embarrassing.

“I guess I’d ask you guys, what makes that not embarrassing? If you think that’s fair, why would you think that’s fair?”

Given their heated moments on the track this season and last season, it does feel like Larson took it personally. Ross Chastain did it, Larson couldn’t, and now it’s against NASCAR rules to even attempt it.

Darlington is seen as the moment Chastain lost his edge. So, will he regain it heading into the playoffs?