{"id":1499000,"date":"2022-04-02T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1499000"},"modified":"2022-04-02T11:00:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T15:00:03","slug":"ross-chastain-melon-mans-unique-celebration-style-goes-back-eight-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/ross-chastain-melon-mans-unique-celebration-style-goes-back-eight-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Chastain: The Melon Man's Unique Celebration Style Goes Back Eight Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ross Chastain finally had the chance<\/a> to display one of the most unique celebrations in a sport full of them Sunday when he raised a watermelon over his head from atop his race car and smashed it on the pavement near the finish line at the Circuit of the Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chastain had just won his first career NASCAR<\/a> Cup Series race in dramatic fashion after a last-lap battle with challengers A.J. Allmendinger and Alex Bowman at the 20-turn road course in Austin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then lived up to his \u201cMelon Man\u201d moniker as he jumped off the top of his car, reached down to pick up a piece of the shattered watermelon, and took a bite that represented more than just a single day\u2019s triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ross Chastain grew up on a watermelon farm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ross
Ross Chastain takes a selfie eating watermelon in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Echopark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas | Logan Riely\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chastain has raced in NASCAR since 2011 when he debuted as an 18-year-old in the Truck Series, but he did not come from a family of racers. The Chastain family has its roots in watermelon farming that dates back eight generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The family\u2019s watermelon farming operation, JDI Farms, began in Georgia before Ross\u2019 great-grandfather moved to Punta Gorda, Florida. The watermelons have grown there ever since, and now his father and brother oversee the farms and their five full-time employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dad and uncle became old enough to farm on their own. They\u2019ve grown the farm to an incredible spot,\u201d Chastain told the Associated Press<\/a> after his win at COTA. \u201cWe just honed in on watermelons as the family business. It started eight generations ago. Really before that, 12 generations ago, they were farming, but back then, everybody farmed. We stuck with it, for better or worse, and every generation has stayed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chastain and his team have brought a watermelon to the track since he joined the NASCAR ranks if needed as a prop in a victory celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always wanted to bring watermelons with me, and they are a big part of why I\u2019m here, no doubt about it,\u201d Chastain told USA Today<\/a> in 2019. \u201cI knew companies, and I went to them and said, \u2018I want to be the farmer in NASCAR,\u2019 and they liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chastain still helps on the farm when he is home in Florida, and there have been times he thought it would become his full-time job before his racing career ever took off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chastain's career has been full of highs and lows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

RT to congratulate Ross Chastain on his Xfinity Series win at Las Vegas! pic.twitter.com\/Hb2qKj6mSu<\/a><\/p>— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 16, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>