Top 5 Most Unique Victory (Lane) Celebrations in Auto Racing


Top 5 Most Unique Victory (Lane) Celebrations in Auto Racing

 Article By Brian Cotnoir

          Throughout most forms of Auto Racing Victory Lane Procedures are the same.   In NASCAR the driver climbs out of the car and stands out of the driver’s side window while their team douses them with water and Gatorade, and in open wheel racing, they gather the top 3 finishers and have a very nice Podium Ceremony where the Top three finishers are congratulated with a trophy and the National Anthem of winning driver’s home country is played.   Some drivers celebrate victories with burnouts and doing donuts in the grass.  NASCAR driver Kyle Busch bows to the crowd with the Checkered Flag after every one of his victories and NASCAR Hall of Famer Alan Kulwicki drove a backwards lap around the track (A “Polish Victory Lap” as it became to be known) to acknowledge the fans at the race track, but even still there are some drivers who take Victory Lane celebrations to a whole other level and these celebrations have made then famous Worldwide.   These are the Top 5 Most Unique Victory Lane Celebrations in Auto Racing.

5.)  Ross Chastain “The Watermelon Smash”

This is one of the newest Most Unique Celebrations in NASCAR.   This year NASCAR driver and beloved underdog Ross Chastain started smashing in Victory Lane after every one of his NASCAR victories, to pay homage to his humble roots working on his family’s watermelon farm in Florida.   Chastain’s Victory Lane celebration is very popular among fans of NASCAR, and he does actually clean up his mess in Victory Lane, after the victory lane ceremony.  




4.)  Daniel Ricciardo “The Shoey”

Australian Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo's signature Podium celebration is to enjoy a “Shoey”; which is Champagne drank straight out of one of his racing shoes.  Some people may find this disgusting, to drink Champagne out of a dirty sweaty racing shoe, but Ricciardo’s celebration is very popular among F1 fans.  


3.)   Helio Castroneves “Climbing the Fence”

I remember, as a kid, seeing IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves climbing the fence after winning the 2001 Indianapolis 500 on TV and thinking it was the coolest celebration ever.   Castroneves would continue to do this after every one of his race victories and it earned him the nickname “Spiderman”.    Castroneves's celebration has been copied by NASCAR driver Jeff Burton and his crew after they won the 2001 Coca-Cola 600 (which is run on the same day as the Indy 500) and NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart also climbed the fence in celebration after winning the Brickyard 400 race (also run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway).

After Winning the Indy 500

After Winning St. Petersburg

2.)  Brickyard 400 Winners “Kissing the Bricks”

This is my favorite celebration in auto racing; it’s not limited to one driver or team, and what started as a silly joke has since become a racing tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.   

First a History Lesson for those who may be unfamiliar: When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was first built over 100 years ago it was made entirely out of bricks, now it’s all paved asphalt, except for a small yard of bricks at the start finish line.   After winning the 1996 Brickyard 400, race winner Dale Jarrett and his crew chief Todd Parrot decided that they were going to go and kiss the yard of bricks in celebration, and thus a new racing tradition was born and now every winner of the Brickyard 400 looks forward to kissing the bricks after the race.  Over the years, IndyCar drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500 have also joined in an kissing the bricks, but they too already have a tradition of drinking milk in Victory Lane.

The Originators

1.)  Tyler Walker & Carl Edwards, “The Back Flip”

If you don’t think race car drivers are athletes, then you are seriously mistaken!  Throughout a race drivers have to battle dehydration and extreme heat, having 3-6 times the force of gravity exerted on their body each lap, and not to mention run the risk of having their cars hit the wall at over 200 MPH!  It’s amazing some of these drivers have the strength to move after a race.   So that’s what makes this victory celebration so impressive.   Tyler Walker won the 2002 World of Outlaws Championship, and after every one of his races he’d celebrate by doing a back flip.  A few years later that victory celebration would be mimicked and brought to a mainstream audience, when NASCAR driver Carl Edwards also did a back flip off his car after every one one of his NASCAR victories.   It just goes to show the amazing shape some of these drivers are in that they have the strength to do a back flip and not get mentioned.  I should mention, though, that Tyler Walker did seriously injure his knee in 2010, after completing a back flip after one of his race victories.

Sorry, Tyler Walker




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