Everything Changed in 19 Seconds
Being a young NASCAR fan is hard.
Finding others around my age who love oval racing is a tall order. People who don’t already enjoy it just don’t think enough exciting things happen. The reality is that most people don’t even know about the changes in the sport that long-time fans blame for its declining popularity and aging fanbase.
Young adult culture has fallen out of love with the automobile, and prefers the major sports leagues that do everything in major cities near them.
NASCAR still has a strong core, but by little fault of their own, it’s a challenge for anything to get beyond their core audience. Still, a viral moment influences the sport every once in a while. NASCAR’s most seen moment in the digital age wouldn’t have happened at all without its unique way of doing things, or without a group of people who look to push the sport beyond its current limits. You probably saw it once, and haven’t thought much of it since.
In October of 2022, Ross Chastain entered the final lap at Martinsville Speedway needing to pass three more drivers to stay in championship contention. Nineteen seconds later, he had laid down the fastest lap in the track’s history in the most unorthodox way possible. He did something only seen in video games before: running full throttle against the wall.
As he rounded the corner at full speed, he got by four cars within seconds, and earned his position in NASCAR’s Championship 4: the last four drivers to remain in championship contention.
For a sport filled with traditions, NASCAR is built upon the unorthodox. Racing on asphalt ovals is unorthodox in itself. That fall Sunday was a culmination of what will push the sport forward.
It would have never happened without NASCAR’s ‘playoff’ system.
It would have never happened without Justin Marks and Trackhouse, the team that made Chastain a championship contender in one season.
It would have never happened without Chastain’s guts to truly do whatever it takes.
Plenty of people in the sport were vocal against Chastain, against Trackhouse’s innovative team, and NASCAR’s way of deciding a champion. Yet it helps the sport stand out to those who love it. The best things come from the bold innovators and competitors who prove their results.
It all culminated in nineteen seconds.
I love breaking the norm. Let’s keep doing it.
