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Trick or treat.

On Monday night, we had to choose. Something sweet to consume or something clever that someone comes up with, maybe even something we’ve never seen before?

On Sunday evening at Martinsville Speedway, we weren’t forced to pick one or the other. We got it all at once. And that led to a rush that not even the biggest bag of sugar and chocolate could possibly supply. A surge of WTH adrenaline that felt so good it managed to accomplish what most believe to be impossible. For a couple of hours on an autumn Sunday, NASCAR enjoyed more buzz than the NFL. All thanks to Ross Chastain, who topped the field with the most reality-defying move seen from a Cup Series machine at NASCAR’s oldest racetrack.

In case you’ve been asleep or have had all your social media feeds muted, here’s what happened. Chastain, running behind Denny Hamlin on the final lap of the final race before the NASCAR Championship Four will fight for the title at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, knew that he had to beat Hamlin if he wanted to be included in that season finale quartet. So, the 29-year-old dropped the hammer like Cole Trickle, only it was for real. In a tactic that he later admitted was taken from EA Sports NASCAR Chase for the Cup 2005 on his Nintendo GameCube, he ran his No. 1 Chevy so high that the racecar rode the wall like one of those mechanical rabbits running on a rail at the dog track.

He pulled off what has since been recognized as perhaps the fastest race lap ever recorded at Martinsville, dot-dot-dotting his way around that wall a full two seconds faster than race winner Christopher Bell. He rocketed from 10th to fifth, edged Hamlin at the line and made the cut to be among the title contenders — alongside Bell, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott — one week from now.

Hamlin was stunned. Chastain was stoked. The internet was on fire.

If I’m being completely honest, though, it was a slightly different fire than I expected. Not from everyone. Judging by the texts and phone calls that I received from friends who never pay any attention to motorsports, especially in the fall, the awesomeness of Chastain’s move struck a chord and a funny bone with many.

That chorus of wows and WTHs from those who wouldn’t know a sparkplug from a wall plug is perhaps why I was a little taken aback by the comments that came from those who live with high-octane fuel in their bloodstream year-round.

Logano was not impressed. “It was awesome, it was cool. It happened for the first time. There’s no rule against it. There needs to be a rule against this one because I don’t know if you want the whole field riding the wall coming to the checkered flag.”

Neither was Kyle Larson, a guy who has spent his entire career running inches off the wall, but not up against it, at least not in a stock car. Well, OK, he did once, at Darlington one year ago and even brought that up on Sunday at Martinsville, saying that it was “embarrassing.”

Not surprisingly, Twitter tended to agree with the two former champions. Twitter usually agrees with the former champions. At least during those rare instances where NASCAR Twitter agrees with anyone.

But do we really believe that, because Chastain did what he did in a desperate moment to try to win a championship, now every single time that the checkered flag is shown that everyone is suddenly going to start riding the top of the outside wall like Tony Hawk on a city park guardrail?

Sure, we had never seen a moment exactly like this one. But we did see Carl Edwards unsuccessfully bang off of the wall at Kansas Speedway in 2008 to try to defeat the man who continually kept him from winning a championship, Jimmie Johnson. It didn’t work, but everyone laughed about it after the fact, once everyone was done applauding the guts that Edwards had shown, as ill-advised as his decision making may have been.

NASCAR old-timers still say that the greatest finish in the sanctioning body’s history, across all divisions, was when NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans crossed the finish line with his right side tires all the way atop the wall and his Modified machine looking like Joey Chitwood at the state fair.

So, let’s think about this. Had the move we saw Sunday been executed by the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, Tim Richmond or any other sacred demigod of stock car racing, would so many people have been so offended? Because it was Chastain, who not so long ago was best known for being sponsored by watermelons, were people quick to dismiss the move as reckless as opposed to a badass move by a much more worthy legend?

If Chastain had attempted the “Pass in the Grass” in the 1987 NASCAR All-Star race instead of Earnhardt, would it have led to new rules instead of creating paintings of a moment that people still have hanging in their living rooms? If it had been Chastain who dive-bombed his way through the corkscrew at Laguna Seca in 1996 to beat Bryan Herta instead of Alex Zanardi, a driver who was praised for his willingness to win at all costs, would it have been declared “embarrassing?”

I’m not naive. I’ve been doing this for a while now. I understand that the rules are different for the stars versus the other guys. But I’ve also been doing this long enough to remember that there were a handful of people, including his rivals, who called out Earnhardt for what he did at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And yes, they don’t like to admit it now, but there were plenty of people in the Champ Car paddock who voiced their displeasure over what Zanardi did in the corkscrew.

I’ve also noticed that we still remember those moments because no one has attempted anything like them since. In other words, a moment is not a trend.

Every racer and every fan has the right to express concerns, especially when they are tied to safety. But it is also no coincidence that most of the people in the garage who speak up are also the ones who just lost. Whether that be Bill Elliott talking about Earnhardt in 1987 or guys who’ve been eliminated from the 2022 NASCAR playoffs speaking of Chastain.

What may or may not come from this we have yet to see. We might not see for a while. But please, I am begging you as a fellow race fan, take a moment … heck, take every night this week and keep watching Chastain’s move from Martinsville, over and over and over again. Enjoy it.

Because no matter who you are or who your favorite driver might be, that moment was amazing. Awesome. Unreal. The reason that we watch motorsports. To be amazed. To be wowed. And to be reminded of why they sell T-shirts with race car drivers’ faces on them.

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens lost their starting goalies because of injuries in Game 3 of their first-round series Friday night.

Canadiens starter Sam Montembeault was replaced by rookie Jakub Dobes, who made his playoff debut, in the second period. Capitals starter Logan Thompson left late in the third period after a collision with teammate Dylan Strome.

The Canadiens won 6-3 to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Montembeault left the crease with 8:21 remaining in the second period and the score tied 2-2. Replays showed him reaching for the back of his left leg after making a save on Capitals defenseman Alex Alexeyev. Montembeault had stopped 11 of 13 shots. For the series, he stopped 58 of 63 shots (.921 save percentage) with a 2.49 goals-against average.

Dobes, 23, was 7-4-3 in 16 games for the Canadiens in the regular season with a .909 save percentage. Dobes had a win over the Capitals on Jan. 10, stopping 15 shots in a 3-2 overtime win.

Thompson was helped from the ice by a trainer and teammates after Strome collided with him with 6:37 left in regulation right after Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky made it a 5-3 Montreal lead. Thompson attempted to skate off on his own but couldn’t put weight down on his left leg.

Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson, who had been outstanding for the Capitals in the first two games of the series, winning both with a .951 save percentage and a 1.47 goals-against average. He made 30 saves on 35 shots in Game 3.

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