Christopher Bell Wins Wild NASCAR Playoffs Race At Homestead-Miami
It was the worst of times, but it was also the best of times for Joe Gibbs Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.
Christopher Bell rode a late race surge in the 4EVER 400 to secure a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs championship event at Phoenix after nearly falling a lap down earlier in the race.
Bell and fellow playoff driver William Byron pulled away two-car battle after a restart with 25 to go, but Byron’s car fell off the pace after a few laps allowing Bell to finish in front of Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick and Byron in fourth place.
“The guys back in the shop are working over the adjustments and they gave me what I needed,” Bell said on NBC after the race.
The win came after disaster struck Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., who are both fighting alongside him to qualify for the final.
Hamlin crashed into the wall while battling for third place with 32 laps to go after “something broke in the steering” and then Truex’s engine died during the ensuing yellow flag period.
Neither was able to continue, and they both fell below the cutline for the final four at Phoenix with one race left in the round of eight.
Blaney’s second place finish came after a close-call in the final stage, when he and Kyle Larson were coming into the pits and Larson ran into him then crashed into the safety barrier at the end of the pit wall, ending his day.
Larson won last week at Las Vegas to qualify for the Final Four with Bell and they are followed by Byron and Blaney in playoffs standings with Reddick, Truex, Hamlin and Chris Buescher below the cutline.
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They’ll all have one last chance to win their way into the final at Martinsville Speedway on October 29.
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