Generally speaking, Christopher Bell has been pro-playoff over the course of his Cup Series career but now he was bit by it and the sanctioning body that came up with it and the tune was different during a press conference on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.
Bell was penalized after the race on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway when NASCAR deemed he committed a safety violation, effectively replicating the now banned Hail Melon made famous by Ross Chastain in 2022, and it resulted in his elimination from the final transfer spot into the Championship Race.
At the same time, he feels as though William Byron and Chevrolet earned that final spot under dubious means and that the penalties NASCAR issued earlier in the week did little to make up for the results.
First, Bell said what he did was fundamentally different than when Chastain rode the wall at Martinsville because he tried to make the corner, broke loose, and simply couldn’t get off it without slamming on his brakes.
“Yeah, I think that. I hate calling the last lap a move, because it was not a move,” Bell said. “My intentions were never to ride the wall. I didn’t gain an advantage riding the wall, so it was not a move. I don’t believe that I broke the rule.”
He didn’t mince words about his feelings either.
“I feel cheated,” Bell said. “I feel cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship. It all stems from what happened earlier – 15, 20 to go, whenever the race got fixed, and manipulated by Chevrolet, that forced our hands to do what we did and ultimately, it forced me into a mistake on the last lap to get into the wall.
“I feel like I should have never been in that situation had the race been ran fairly, (Bryon) would have lost enough spots to get me into the final race.”
Bell said he was never told of the points situation but knew he was racing Byron for the final spot as long as Ryan Blaney continued to lead and should he ultimately win the race, which he did.
It was at that point that two Chevrolet drivers, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon, rode side-by-side behind Byron in a blockade that prevented the struggling Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 car to retain the position he needed to advance over Bell.
“I was informed with probably 20-25 to go that (Bryon) was bleeding positions and it appeared at that point that we were going to be fine and be good on points,” Bell said. “As the run continued, I actually got visuals on the 24 car, and saw him backing the field up, and it was probably 10 to go when I realized what was going on, and that the 24 was indeed done bleeding positions, so I thought at that point that my race was over.
“I didn’t know that (Bubba Wallace) was a spot for me until the last lap. I knew that I had to pass him, and I got by him into turn three and unfortunately, I slid into wall.”
Wallace and his team, alongside the Dillon and Chastain teams, were all penalized this week for race manipulation by NASCAR. The three drivers were fined $100,000 and lost 50 driver and owner points, with their respective spotters and competition directions suspended this week and also fined $100,000.
“I could very clearly see the race manipulation and the race fixing that was going on,” Bell said.
Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, including the eponymous owner and crew chief Adam Stevens, tried to argue their case about the wall riding move but NASCAR officials said in-race penalties are not subject to appeal and that hasn’t set right with Bell either.
“I think that the rule language needs to be a little bit more clearly defined, and less gray area,” Bell said. “I think it needs to be more clearly defined and less gray area.”
Bell said ‘it isn’t my place to speak on what should or shouldn’t happen’ pertaining to penalties for the drivers accused to race manipulation but that they also ‘did not make it right by me that, who lost out on the actions that happened,’ as a result of the Chevrolet blockade.
The final four in the Cup Series featured three of the bottom four seeded drivers at the start of the Round of 8, by virtue of must-win victories, and that now has Bell rethinking his previous endorsements of the format.
“I think there needs to be a lot of thought into what happens, but certainly, I feel like the wins are – I don’t know – the fact that we had three bottom tier winners in the round of 8 that led to the Championship 4 that we have today,” Bell said. “I don’t know what the answer is, but I think a lot of thought needs to be put into it, but I do feel like changes need to be made.”
Bell had made the final four the past two seasons and was one of the top-five teams all year and that speed is what he will remember this year for more than what happened this past week.
“This 2024 season has been the best in my career across all forms of the statistics – more top-10’s, more top-fives, more laps led,” Bell said. “That is something that we tried to put emphasis on going into 2024, coming off our 2022, 2023, being in the championship race, but feeling like we didn’t perform at our highest. Even leaving 2024, I feel like it is more the same, that I feel like we left a lot on the table. I’m happy and pleased that I’ve set career highs for myself, and I’m hopeful and optimistic that I can keep breaking those barriers – winning more races, leading more laps, winning more stages, more top-10s, more top-fives.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
