‘Melon Man’ Chastain reigns as Ford loses their flowers again
DARLINGTON, S.C. — A late-race restart Friday night at Darlington Raceway snatched victory from the grasp of Ford and handed it to the Melon Man.
Ty Majeski led by over five seconds with six laps to go when Jack Wood hit the wall and brought out a caution. On the ensuing restart, Ross Chastain had a better restart than Majeski and drove off to victory lane.
Majeski finished fifth after leading twice for 36 laps and placing third and fourth in the first two stages. His loss extended Ford’s winless streak across all three NASCAR national series to 31 races.
Ford hasn’t had a winless streak this long since 2010. In 2010, Ford went winless for 38 NASCAR national series points races before their first win in June 2010 at Road America with Carl Edwards.
At this point last season, Ford already had four wins (1 – Cup, 3 – Trucks).
Majeski played second fiddle to Corey Heim and Christian Eckes in the first two stages. Heim led four times for 77 laps (race-high) and swept those stages while Christian Eckes placed second and third in those stages.
At the start of stage three, though, Dean Thompson wrecked while racing to the inside of Heim. The wreck collected himself, Heim, Rajah Caruth, Matt Crafton, Jack Wood and a very unlucky Layne Riggs.
Heim ran a few laps on the ensuing restart but finished 28th, out of the race.
Heim, Thompson, Caruth, Crafton and Riggs all earned stage points so the wreck changed up the complexion of the race.
Christian Eckes took the lead for 15 laps before Ty Majeski took over on lap 120.
While Majeski landed a comfortable lead, tear-offs landed on the grilles of Grant Enfinger and Ty Dillon’s trucks. Enfinger had to pit from the Top-5, crushing him to a 16th-place finish.
Dillon was luckier. Although the tear-off caused his motor to lay down, a caution quickly fell and minimized his losses. Dillon netted a ninth-place finish in overtime — his first NASCAR national series Top-10 finish since July 16, 2022, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
No one was any match for Ross Chastain who ecstatically celebrated with his iconic watermelon drop, grateful for his first big opportunity six years ago.
As an underdog with high prospects and his first big shot heading into the Xfinity Series race in September 2018, Chastain won the pole, swept the first two stages and led 90 of the first 111 laps before squabbling with Kevin Harvick, who essentially wrote him off an interview that day.
Everything worked out for Chastain, who has won 10 NASCAR races (4 – Cup, 2 -Xfinity, 4- Trucks) and now No. 11 with his first win at the track where it all began.
TOP-10 FINISHERS: Ross Chastain, Nick Sanchez, Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, Chase Purdy, Colby Howard, Taylor Gray, Ty Dillon, Tanner Gray
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Corey Heim, Eckes, Majeski, Taylor Gray, Layne Riggs, Chastain, Dean Thompson, Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Grant Enfinger
STAGE TWO TOP-10: Heim, Rajah Caruth, Eckes, Majeski, Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Riggs, Chastain, Taylor Gray, Jake Garcia
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com