Gridlock Guy: NASCAR star Chastain has championed safe driving for a decade

Is an eighth-generation watermelon farmer, whose full-time job is aggressively driving at nearly 200 mph in a beer-sponsored car, an ideal candidate to do safe-driving campaigns?

Maybe not. But NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain is just that. Since 2015, he has partnered with different state governments’ road safety initiatives. This pricked his heart because of firsthand experience, but maybe not the kind you would think.

“We were traveling this country a lot and we saw crashes,” Chastain told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He raced for small teams and drove to most races. “I would just drive my own truck or ride in the van with the guys on the team with each team I was with.”

After getting stuck in traffic behind these wrecks, Chastain’s uncle brought up the idea of his nephew promoting safe driving. Now, 14 states use “Protect Your Melon” seatbelt messaging and other programs with Chastain to campaign for seatbelt use and against distracted and impaired driving. Each state has different goals and can tailor campaigns to use Chastain accordingly.

“Protect Your Melon” adorned a No. 7 Chevy in Feb. 22’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 32-year-old Floridian has driven that scheme for other teams before. But Chastain helped facilitate its appearance on driver Justin Allgaier’s ride, which won the series championship in 2024 and ended up finishing second at AMS.

The next day, Chastain, who has become a fan favorite, greeted a long line of autograph-seekers in the AMS fan zone. But he was not standing next to his No. 1 Busch Light Chevy that he drives every Sunday in the Cup Series. He flanked a “Protect Your Melon” car at the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety display.

“Ross’s popularity with fans makes him an ideal spokesperson in the effort to save lives and increase seat belt use in Georgia, and it is why so many states are working with him,” said Allen Poole, director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “It is easy to see why Ross is so popular with race fans because he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And fans see his passion for highway safety when they talk to him during autograph sessions and other public appearances.”

While nonsensical at first glance, having a high-profile beer sponsor on his racecar is another opportunity to spread the good word on highway safety, Chastain said. Busch Light has made Chastain front and center in its advertising, and the beverage is a favorite among NASCAR fans. Chastain encourages sober driving and the use of rideshare when people do decide to drink, which might just happen a little bit at races.

And Chastain takes the campaign to more places than racetracks. He makes appearances in stores with watermelons. And, maybe more importantly, “Protect Your Melon” joins law enforcement at high schools - and with a speed competition.

Dealerships loan out cars and teams of students compete to see who can buckle up the fastest and then rotate. “They’re gonna go and jump in every seat, leave the door open and run around and buckle the seatbelt,” Chastain explained. “They go through all four seats and it never fails that the track team usually wins.”

Chastain has taken “Protect Your Melon” to local tracks, too, having raced in January at the “Watermelon Capital of the World,” Cordele Speedway in South Georgia. Fitting.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that the seat belt use rate in the U.S. was 91.9% in 2023. So almost 10% of drivers are unbuckled, but 50% of the 25,420 killed in auto crashes in 2022 were unrestrained.

“(Putting on a seatbelt) takes less than two seconds. It’s one continuous belt, right?” Chastain said. He has to buckle five to seven different buckles on his racecar harness. It is such a simple action for such a ripe rate of return.

Chastain was sitting in the passenger seat of a truck during our interview, as his friend cruised down a Texas interstate and en route to their next race. Fame hasn’t changed him, but instead has given him an incredibly important platform.

Doug Turnbull has covered Atlanta traffic for over 20 years and written “Gridlock Guy” since 2017. Doug also co-hosts the “Five to Go Podcast,” a weekly deep dive on stories in motorsports. Contact him at fireballturnbull@gmail.com.