CONCORD, NC — Ross Chastain has one of the more unique victory celebrations in all of NASCAR. In a tribute to his roots working on his family’s watermelon farm, he stands on his car and throws the large fruit down into the pavement, smashing it to his fans’ delight.
He did that Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But first, he honored the late Kyle Busch, who had his own iconic go-to move in victory lane.
Advertisement
Chastain stood atop his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and said, “I have to do it.” The driver then folded his right arm in front of him and bent at the waist, bowing just the way that Busch did after so many memorable wins.
And then, of course, Chastain smashed a watermelon.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do. And we had conversations about, do we smash the watermelon or not? We were very aware and mourning with everybody,” Chastain said. “The bow I did was in the most respectful way of showmanship to one of the greatest drivers I’ve ever raced against, and to do it as a nod to him.”
Chastain was the winner of the Charbroil 300 on Saturday night after NASCAR declared the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race over because of inclement weather after two stages were complete. Chastain led at the end of the second stage following several laps under caution due to a heavy mist and fog.
Advertisement
The race was initially delayed for more than four hours due to the weather and restarted around 10 p.m. ET. Chastain said he fell asleep on the floor of his hauler during the rain delay, and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. went home.
Of the 91 laps completed, Chastain led 28 of them, more than anyone else.
It was the first NASCAR race completed since Busch suddenly died on Thursday, due to what his family called complications from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
1 / 18
See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.
Kyle Busch’s career left a lasting mark on NASCAR, with achievements and moments that defined his time in the sport.
Above, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with daughter, Lennix Busch son, Brexton Busch and wife, Samantha Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on Feb. 21, 2026, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
1 / 18
See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.
Kyle Busch’s career left a lasting mark on NASCAR, with achievements and moments that defined his time in the sport.
Above, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with daughter, Lennix Busch son, Brexton Busch and wife, Samantha Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on Feb. 21, 2026, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
2 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 zone/Thorntons Chevrolet, exits his car and reacts after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 30, 2024, in Lebanon, Tennessee.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
3 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22, 2025, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images)
4 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on Feb. 21, 2026, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images)
5 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 17, 2015, in Kansas City, Kansas.
(Matt Sullivan, Getty Images)
6 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, celebrates winning the series championship and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22, 2015, in Homestead, Florida.
(Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)
7 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, celebrates winning the series championship and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22, 2015, in Homestead, Florida.
(Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)
8 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead Speedway on Nov. 17, 2019, in Homestead, Florida.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
9 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22, 2025, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Chris Graythen, Getty Images)
10 / 18
See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Realtree Chevrolet, celebrates with his wife, Samantha Busch, and daughter, Lennix Busch victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 12, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.
(Chris Graythen, Getty Images)
11 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Aug. 24, 2024, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
12 / 18
See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with his daughter, Lennix Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on Feb. 21, 2026, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
13 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, celebrates with his son Brexton and wife Samantha in Victory Lane after winning the series championship and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22, 2015, in Homestead, Florida.
(Chris Graythen, Getty Images)
14 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22, 2025, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Chris Graythen, Getty Images)
15 / 18
See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Realtree Chevrolet, celebrates with his wife, Samantha Busch, and daughter, Lennix Busch victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 12, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.
(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)
16 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 4, 2023, in Madison, Illinois.
(Jeff Curry, Getty Images)
17 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22, 2025, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Chris Graythen, Getty Images)
18 / 18
Remembering Kyle Busch’s life and NASCAR career in photos
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Feb. 22, 2025, in Hampton, Georgia.
(Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images)
“I think racing is the best thing we can do,” Chastain said.
Like the rain clouds above the track, Busch’s death has lingered over the racing community all weekend, setting a somber tone on what is normally a celebration for the sport around the Coca-Cola 600.
Advertisement
“Getting on the track felt so good, to go fast, to just drive and slide the car,” Chastain said. “This is the start of feeling a little bit of healing through this. It felt good to go fast tonight. … Losing Kyle was on my mind through all of this.”
Jesse Love and Austin Hill, two drivers for Richard Childress Racing — the Cup Series team Busch belonged to — finished second and third in the O’Reilly race. Hill will drive in Busch’s re-numbered Cup car on Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600. He and Love both put on Busch hats after getting out of their cars Saturday night.
Love was initially angry with how the race ended, but quickly changed his outlook after reflecting on the loss of Busch.
“I’m mad, right? I think it’s a complete joke, handling it how (NASCAR) handled it. … Then I kind of realized, if this week has taught us anything, this all doesn’t matter as much as we think it does, right? There’s things way more important than a trophy,” Love said. “There’s a lot of hurt people right now.”
Advertisement
The win is Chastain’s fourth in the O’Reilly Series, and 15th across all three of NASCAR’s top three national touring competitions. The victory also means he has now won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in each of the three series.
Chastain is scheduled to run in both the Craftsman Truck Series race and in the Cup competition on Sunday. The truck race — postponed from Friday night — is set for 10 a.m. ET and the green flag will drop on the Coca-Cola 600 at 6 p.m. ET.
When asked if his celebration will inspire the winners of Sunday’s races to honor Busch the same way, Chastain said, “I hope nobody else gets the chance, and we just win all the races.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kyle Busch honored by Ross Chastain with bow after NASCAR win
