Update: Matt DiBenedetto and the RSS/Viking Motorsports No. 38 was disqualified from their 17th place result for having three unsecured lug nuts after the race. Every car is subject to a lug nut inspection after the race. One or two missing lug nuts is a fine but three or more results in a disqualification.
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Christopher Bell emerged victorious in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon.
It was his fourth consecutive win in the second-tier division at The Magic Mile having gone undefeated in his three most recent starts in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024. Bell also won the 2022 Cup Series race at New Hampshire.
He’s really good here, but on this occasion, it took capitalizing on a green-white-checkered finish and surviving a three-wide scenario with Sheldon Creed and Cole Custer at the white flag to get it done.
“I feel so bad for Sheldon. He’s been really, really close to winning one of these things. Today, he did everything right to win that race,” Bell said. “He restarted in the right lane, good push and coming to the white flag he got Cole loose, which opened the door for me.
“This car was really, really good early in the race but once I lost track position, I was just another guy. We got really lucky there.”
Creed finished second, the 10th time he’s claimed a runner-up without winning in the division yet.
“Overall, good day. I’m proud of everyone with our group at Joe Gibbs Racing and everyone at Toyota. We made our car better all day. It was a little rough on rain tires, but as soon as we got dries on it, we got our Supra better and better. Just stayed in the hunt all day. I wasn’t great on the short run, but I felt like we could compete at times. Just stayed in it, worked hard at it and came home second again.”
Custer led a race high 114 of 203 laps and was the leader at the time of the restart but got pushed up the track by Creed. Custer hit Creed back and that’s what allowed Bell to take the lead.
“That was hard racing at the end. I hate it for us and our guys,” Custer said. “I felt like we had that one. We had the best car all day and to have it ripped away with one lap to go is just heartbreaking. Our guys brought a really fast Haas Automation Ford Mustang. That was one of the best cars I’ve had in the Xfinity Series. Man, it sucks. I am going to replay that one in my head of what I could do differently. You get put in those late-race cautions six times, or however many there were, and eventually, it is not going to go your way. There are definitely some things I can look back on and see what I could have done differently. That one really stings. I really wanted that one.”
Custer remains the points leader but is looking for his first win of the season, still.
Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil completed the top five, with Kvapil again leading laps late and threatening to win in a partial schedule for JR Motorsports.
Ryan Sieg, the first driver outside a playoff spot, finished sixth ahead of Parker Kligerman, Riley Herbst, Alex Bowman and Corey Heim.
Short track ace, Justin Bonsignore, finished 23rd in his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota but ran inside the top-5 all race before getting caught up in a multi-car crash with 19 laps remaining.
The 36-year-old from Long Island, New York won the NASCAR Modified Tour race at the track earlier in the morning.
The race began on Goodyear’s wet-weather tires — a first for the Xfinity Series on an oval — after a passing shower canceled Cup Series qualifying and practice. It took just 11 laps on the wet tires to dry the track and swap over to slicks.
The next race for the Xfinity Series is the Tennessee Lottery 250 next Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway (5 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Updated results
- Christopher Bell
- Sheldon Creed
- Cole Custer
- Justin Allgaier
- Carson Kvapil
- Ryan Sieg
- Parker Kligerman
- Riley Herbst
- Alex Bowman
- Corey Heim
- AJ Allmendinger
- Sammy Smith
- Jesse Love
- Brandon Jones
- Chandler Smith
- Brennan Poole
- Jeb Burton
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Sam Mayer
- Anthony Alfredo
- Jeremy Clements
- Justin Bonsignore
- Josh Williams
- Austin Hill
- Kyle Weatherman
- Parker Retzlaff
- Blaine Perkins
- Glen Reen
- Garrett Smithley
- Mason Massey
- Kyle Sieg
- Hailie Deegan
- Armani Williams
- Patrick Emerling
- Ryan Ellis
- Nathan Byrd
- Leland Honeyman
- Matt DiBenedetto (Disqualified)
Playoff standings
Nine races left until playoffs
Chandler Smith 2 wins
Austin Hill 2 wns
Sam Mayer 2 wins
Shane Van Gisbergen 2 wins
AJ Allgaier 1 win
Jesse Love 1 win
Cole Custer +205
Sheldon Creed +100
Riley Herbst +94
AJ Allmendinger +59
Parker Kligerman +52
Sammy Smith +31
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Ryan Sieg -31
Anthony Alfredo -71
Brandon Jones -82
Brennen Poole -123
Parker Retzlaff -132
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.