LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Christopher Bell crashed the NASCAR playoffs, winning Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become the 14th Cup Series winner this season.
“That one was much needed right there,” the 27-year-old Bell said.
Bell mastered the track where he won Xfinity Series races in 2018, 2019 and 2021, holding off Chase Elliott, last week’s winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Bell is the 14th driver to earn a spot in the 16-driver playoff field. With six races left in the regular season, it leaves open the possibility that more than 16 drivers could win a race and the final playoff spot or spots would be decided on points.
That’s a worry for another day for Bell.
Bell chased down Elliott late and cruised in the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. His only other Cup win came in the second race of the 2021 season in the Daytona road course race.
Elliott finished second for Hendrick Motorsportsm and Bubba Wallace was third for 23XI Racing. Martin Truex Jr. dominated early and finished fourth. and Kevin Harvick completed the top five.
Bell led JGR to its fourth win this season and 12th at New Hampshire.
Bell was one of those drivers who would have had to worry about his playoff chances during the rest of the summer stretch. He entered the race in 16th place in the points standings — 19 above the cutline.
His biggest concern Sunday was trying to handle the 21-pound lobster awarded to the winner.
“Earlier in the year, I felt like we were right on the verge of winning,” Bell said. “In the last couple of weeks, I thought we were pretty far away. Now, here we are today."
TRUEX FADES
Truex won the first two stages and led 172 laps before he faded after a poor pit stop and finished fourth. Truex dominated early from the pole and seemed poised to snap a season-long winless drought. Without a win, Truex is on the playoff bubble.
TRADING PAINT
Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon used their cars as battering rams midway through the race. Dillon hit Keselowski in the door on the backstretch. Keselowski retaliated and smacked Dillon on the passenger’s side of the car and ran him off the track. Harvick later turned Dillon coming off pit road.
UP NEXT
NASCAR’s Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for its only stop of the year. The track long held two Cup races each year and Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch won the races in a doubleheader weekend last year.
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