NASCAR Cup Series

4EVER 400 highlights: Christopher Bell wins at Homestead-Miami

Updated Oct. 22, 2023 6:08 p.m. ET

The NASCAR Cup Series' 10-race playoff schedule continued Sunday with Christopher Bell winning the 4EVER 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and we had you covered with all the drama from start to finish!

NASCAR's top stars battled it out over 267 laps in Homestead, Florida. It was the second of three races in the round of 8.

The eight-driver playoff field included Bell, William Byron (won Texas), Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin (won Bristol), Kyle Larson (won Las Vegas and Darlington), Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick (won Kansas) and Ryan Blaney (won Talladega).

You can find a full list of winners so far this year, as well as the season's remaining schedule here.

Recap our live coverage below.

Green

Truex, one of three Toyotas in the top three starting spots, started on the pole Sunday. He was immediately challenged for the lead by Bubba Wallace as things got underway in Florida.

On the move!

Byron worked his way up to second early in the race and eventually captured the lead coming into Lap 21.

Battle for the lead

Larson, the first driver to secure a Championship 4 berth, had closed in on Brad Keselowski late in the opening stage, as things continued to heat up on and off the track. He built his lead up to 1.2 seconds with seven laps to go in Stage 1.

Trouble!

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into the wall on the exit of Turn 2 on the backstretch and went for a spin, bringing out the caution to end Stage 1.

Meanwhile, Larson picked up the opening-stage win, followed by Keselowski, Blaney, Byron and Truex.

Close calls

The green flag was back out on Lap 86, as the second stage got underway. Larson and Keselowski had largely driven away from the rest of the field early in the stage, with Larson building his solo lead to more than four seconds midway through.

Elsewhere, Blaney overtook Keselowski for second, but that was still over five seconds back of Larson for the lead with 30 laps to go in Stage 2.

Making a statement

With less than 20 laps to go now in Stage 2, Blaney started to close in on Larson and chip away at his lead. He went on to overtake Larson and pick up the win in the second stage.

Blaney, who has never made it to the Championship 4, earned 10 critical stage points — plus a playoff point — in the process. What's more, the winner of Stage 2 has gone on to win the past four races at Homestead-Miami.

Rounding out the top-five finishers in Stage 2 were Byron, Larson, Hamlin and Keselowski.

All gas, no brakes

The green flag returned on Lap 173, and Byron and Blaney were racing side-by-side for the lead to open the final stage.

Huge miscue

Misfortune struck Larson in the third stage when he slammed into the barriers at the entrance of pit road, ending his day early after a promising start to the day. The red flag came out to fix the barrels.

Larson's early exit didn't impact his playoff status, as he qualified for the Championship 4 after winning at Las Vegas.

Once the red flag was lifted, the race was back under caution with 51 laps to go and Hamlin in the lead.

Crash!

Things got chaotic when an incident involving John H. Nemechek, JJ Yeley and Ross Chastain unfolded near the end of the race. Yeley spun around and collided with the inside wall, bringing the caution out again immediately.

Meanwhile, Hamlin took the lead from Blaney.

New leader!

The green flag was back with 38 laps to go, and Bell grabbed the lead after a three-wide battle with Hamlin and Blaney.

Not how he drew it up

Hamlin hit the wall while battling with Blaney, bringing out the caution once again with 32 laps remaining. It appeared that something broke in the steering on Hamlin's car, and that's what sent him into the wall and ultimately ended his day.

Double trouble

A mechanical issue ended Truex's day early as well, as smoke was billowing from the tailpipe of his car. Both Truex and Hamlin will have one more shot to make it to the Championship 4 next weekend at Martinsville.

No quit!

Bell took the lead at the end of the race, taking about a half-second lead over Byron.

Then, Blaney overtook second from Byron, while Reddick continued to keep pace with Blaney for third with five laps to go.

Winner!

In the end, the late-race surge was enough to seal the win for Bell, who punched his ticket to the Championship 4 for the second year in a row. Rounding out the top-five finishers were Blaney, Reddick, Byron and AJ Allmendinger.

PRE-RACE

Setting the stage

Ahead of the action, FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass broke down who and what to keep an eye out for in Sunday's race.

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