NASCAR: Christopher Bell wins at Homestead as his JGR teammates have late-race problems
Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. each had issues near the end of the race
Christopher Bell clinched a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series title race in Phoenix with a win at Homestead on Sunday.
Bell passed William Byron for the win with 15 laps to go and drove away to guarantee that Joe Gibbs Racing will have at least one car racing for the championship. Bell’s teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. each had late-race problems and may each need to win at Martinsville next week to have a title shot.
Christopher Bell TO THE LEAD!#NASCARPlayoffs | NBC pic.twitter.com/YWcSl8eY9l
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 22, 2023
Hamlin had something break on his car after racing with Ryan Blaney for a spot in the top five. Hamlin’s car shot straight into the wall in Turns 1 and 2 and caused a caution with 32 laps to go in the 267-lap race.
As Hamlin pulled his damaged car into his pit stall, Truex radioed to his team that his engine was having problems. As smoke came out the tailpipes of Truex’s car, his team pushed the car behind the wall.
A massive turn of events.
Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are out of the race. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/OKxk2u0SkH— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 22, 2023
Blaney finished second while Tyler Reddick was third and Byron finished fourth. With Bell and Kyle Larson guaranteed two of the four championship spots at Phoenix, William Byron has a healthy lead on fifth while Blaney is in fourth and 10 points ahead of Tyler Reddick in fifth.
Truex and Hamlin are each 17 points back of Blaney in fourth. While that’s a deficit that can be overcome, it’s unlikely that Byron and Blaney will fall out of the top four at Martinsville. It’s reasonable to expect that either none or one of Hamlin and Truex will be racing for the title in two weeks.
Bell didn’t have a competitive car for much of the race. He found himself at risk of going a lap down midway through the race but some significant adjustments netted some serious speed.
It’s the second straight season Bell will race for the title. He earned a title shot a season ago with a win at Martinsville and went on to finish third in the standings after he was 10th at Phoenix. He’s a legitimate title contender this season as he hasn’t finished lower than 15th in any of the last seven races.
Kyle Larson crashes out
Larson could race aggressively at Homestead after he won at Las Vegas a week ago to clinch one of the four title spots. He did just that coming to pit road during the final green-flag pit stop cycle of the race and hit the rear of Blaney’s car before plowing into the barrels that protect the end of the pit road wall.
Larson and Blaney were running 1-2 at the time of the incident and the damage was too much for Larson to continue.
WOW!
Kyle Larson slams into the barriers at the entrance of pit road!#NASCARPlayoffs | NBC pic.twitter.com/3rOBoJzW7t— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 22, 2023
Points standings
1. Kyle Larson (won at Las Vegas)
2. Christopher Bell (won at Homestead)
3. William Byron, 4,126 points
4. Ryan Blaney, 4,106
5. Tyler Reddick, 4,096
6. Martin Truex, 4,089
6. Denny Hamlin, 4,089
8. Chris Buescher, 4,063
Race results
1. Christopher Bell
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Tyler Reddick
4. William Byron
5. AJ Allmendinger
6. Bubba Wallace
7. Ty Gibbs
8. Joey Logano
9. Aric Almirola
10. Austin Dillon
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Austin Cindric
13. Ryan Preece
14. Erik Jones
15. Chase Elliott
16. Daniel Suarez
17. Chase Briscoe
18. Kyle Busch
19. Alex Bowman
20. Corey LaJoie
21. Chris Buescher
22. Michael McDowell
23. Justin Haley
24. Ty Dillon
25. Todd Gilliland
26. Ryan newman
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Brad Keselowski
29. Martin Truex Jr.
30. Denny Hamlin
31. Ross Chastain
32. John Hunter Nemechek
33. JJ Yeley
34. Kyle Larson
35. Josh Bilicki
36. Harrison Burton
