NASCAR driver Ross Chastain visits local schools, encourages teens to buckle up 

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – NASCAR driver Ross Chastain was in the Rochester region this week, encouraging high schoolers to drive safe and always wear their seatbelts. 

For the last eight years, Chastain has teamed up with the New York State DMV and the Governor’s Traffic Safety committee on the “Protect Your Melon” campaign.   

When he’s not driving on the NASCAR circuit, Chastain is an eighth-generation watermelon farmer – hence the “Protect Your Melon” logo. The logo is seen on both his uniform and his #91 Buckle Up NY Chevy when he hits the track for the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Watkins Glen International later this summer.

More than 1.5 million watermelons labeled with “Protect Your Melon” and a “Buckle Up!” hashtags will be sold in grocery stores across the state through the rest of the spring and summer.

News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke is a NASCAR super-fan, so we sent her to chat with Ross Chastain about the program and his racing season so far.  Click the video above for the full interview.