AVONDALE, Ariz.: Typically cool, calm, and collected, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell let his frustrations show on Saturday at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway, expressing his anger over not making the Championship 4 — a consequence, he believes, of race manipulation in last Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
“I feel cheated. I feel cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship. It all stems from what happened earlier – 15, 20 to go, whenever the race got fixed and manipulated by Chevrolet, that forced our hands to do what we did, and ultimately, it forced me into a mistake on the last lap to get into the wall.
“I could very clearly see the race manipulation and the race fixing that was going on.
“I feel like I should have never been in that situation had the race been ran fairly, the 24 (William Bryon) would have lost enough spots to get me into the final race.”
In the final laps at Martinsville, Bell noticed two Chevrolet teams manipulating the race outcome, which he feels ultimately pushed him out of Championship 4 contention.
In a desperate last-lap attempt, Bell overtook a slowing Bubba Wallace and briefly rode the wall — a move reminiscent of Ross Chastain’s now-outlawed ‘Hail Melon’ maneuver.
However, nearly a half-hour later, NASCAR penalized Bell under the safety violation rule, relegating him to the last car one lap down and ending his hopes of advancing to the Championship 4 for a second consecutive season.
“I hate calling the last lap a move because it was not a move,” added Bell. “My intentions were never to ride the wall. I didn’t gain an advantage riding the wall, so it was not a move. I don’t believe that I broke the rule.”
Given the circumstances of Martinsville and despite the hefty penalties and suspensions of crew chiefs, spotters, and team executives from 23XI Racing (Bubba Wallace), Richard Childress Racing (Austin Dillon), and Trackhouse Racing (Ross Chastain), Bell believes he should be one of the four drivers vying for the championship trophy.”
“I feel like I should be in the Championship 4 – yes. So, in the race, when the manipulation happened – it was clear that I needed a position. With the 23 (Bubba Wallace) falling back, we got that position and whenever we crossed the finish line, the 20 car was in. So, with the cards that were dealt, the 20 car was in position to make the championship event, and we are not in it.”
Bell insisted on Saturday that the Chevrolets had not been defiant in attempting to block the race track so other race cars could not get around an ill-handling William Byron; Bell would have sustained enough points to overtake Byon as the fourth and final car into the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday afternoon and not needed the Toyota assistance of Wallace.
“We shouldn’t have ever been in that spot in the first place, and that is what I go back to,” added Bell. “If the race had been run fairly, there would not have been any manipulation on either side. Our hands were forced by hands of our other competitors.”
Bell admitted he has a chip on his shoulder heading into the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race but clarified that this attitude is just for the weekend. Once Sunday’s 312-lap race is over, he plans to leave the season behind and focus on 2025.
“I mean, yeah, I’m bummed and disappointed, so yeah, I guess I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. It is just for this weekend,” explained Bell. “That is one thing that I’m grateful of – it’s not the Round of 8. It’s not the Round of 12, so I don’t have to go weeks after this.
“As soon as Sunday is over, I can close the book, and we can focus on 2025 and trying to be in a better position going into that championship race or the cutoff race at Martinsville. I’m incredibly bummed that it came down to that.”
With no recourse to protest, as his move was considered a safety violation rather than a race infraction, Bell is now advocating for clearer rule definitions moving forward.
“I think that the rule language needs to be a little bit more clearly defined, and less gray area,” he said. “I think it needs to be more clearly defined and less gray area.”
Although not in the Championship 4, the mindset for the Norman, Oklahoma native doesn’t shift. Bell is still focused on delivering his fourth win of 2024.
“At least from standpoint – I’m not going to speak on the team – but for me, it is really easy,” sounded Bell. “It doesn’t matter what my mental state, whenever I put the helmet on and get in the car, I have been able to turn off everything that is going on around me, and focus on the task at hand, and frankly, I look forward to that. Practice was fun.
“Practice was fun. I got to get into my zone and drive a race car. Qualifying will be fun, and then the race will be fun. It is all of the stuff outside of the car where you are not in race car driver mode that is not fun, and heartbreaking and disappointment. I look forward to putting my helmet on and getting out of the world and getting in my race car.”
Bell confessed should he win, though, his feelings would be mixed.
“Yeah, it is definitely going to be tough,” he said. “No matter how it goes. You want to do well, and we are going to put our best foot forward to do well, but if we do well, and have a successful weekend, then it is going to be even more of bummer and a disappointment, so yeah, it is a very perplexing feeling going into this weekend, and one that I hope I never have again.”
No matter the outcome on Sunday, Bell considers 2024 his most memorable season yet.
“This 2024 season has been the best in my career across all forms of the statistics – more top-10’s, more top-fives, more laps led,” explained Bell. “That is something that we tried to put emphasis on going into 2024, coming off our 2022, 2023, being in the championship race, but feeling like we didn’t perform at our highest.
“Even leaving 2024, I feel like it is more the same, that I feel like we left a lot on the table. I’m happy and pleased that I’ve set career highs for myself, and I’m hopeful and optimistic that I can keep breaking those barriers – winning more races, leading more laps, winning more stages, more top-10s, more top-fives.”
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at [email protected]
