NASCAR is taking steps to discourage a driving technique popularized in part by video games. For anyone just catching up, on the last lap of a huge race in 2022, NASCAR driver Ross Chastain cranked his car into fifth gear, slammed it into the wall, and zoomed past multiple drivers to finish fourth and qualify for the Championship Finals. Chastain said he learned the “wall-ride” technique from playing an old NASCAR game for GameCube.
Well, unfortunately for Chastain and any other drivers looking to try the same move, it’s now a penalized technique by NASCAR. In a blog post, NASCAR said Chastain’s move “made for an enthralling finish” at the event, but it carried a safety risk that NASCAR is uncomfortable with.
A NASCAR rule states that “safety is a top priority,” and as such, “any violations deemed to compromise the safety of an event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of competitors, officials, spectators, or others are treated with the highest degree of seriousness.”
