A Week After Martinsville Controversy, Bell Feels 'Cheated Out'
Christopher Bell, who is usually one of the most calm, and cool individuals in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, was anything but during his media availability on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway. Bell, who made a mistake on the final lap while gaining the final spot he needed to surpass William Byron to clinch a place in the Championship 4 was penalized for a safety violation as NASCAR ruled that he attempted a wall-riding move similar to the one now outlawed by NASCAR that Ross Chastain made in 2022.
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Bell reiterates that he didn't make a conscious decision to get into the wall at Martinsville, and he feels that he didn't gain an advantage by doing it, which should have resulted in the conclusion that he didn't break the rules on the final lap of the race.
"I hate calling the last lap a move because it was not a move," Bell said. "You know, my intentions were never to ride the wall. I didn't gain an advantage riding the wall. So it was it was not a move and I don't believe that I broke the rules."
In addition to Bell's wall-riding penalty, NASCAR sent out a wave of penalties following last weekend's race for three teams charged with manipulating the outcome of Sunday's race in an effort to help Byron and Bell gain the amount of points needed to advance to the Championship 4.
Bell accused the Chevrolet teams of blatantly attempting to "fix" the race for Byron in the closing laps, which he says led to Bubba Wallace being in a position to need to come to Bell's aid, and ultimately it resulted in Bell going over the line on the final lap and slapping the wall. At the end of it all, Bell felt robbed out of a chance at the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
"I just -- I feel cheated," Bell anguished. "I feel cheated out of a chance to compete for a championship. Yeah, I mean, it all stems from what happened earlier, [with] 15 [or] 20 [laps] 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. And I feel like I should never have been in that position, had the race been run fairly. The 24 car would have lost enough spots to get me into the final race."
Bell feels strongly that he and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team should be competing for a championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, not William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team.
"I feel like I should be in the Championship 4, yes," Bell stated emphatically. "In the race, when the manipulation happened, it was clear that I needed a position and with the 23 dropping back, we got that position and whenever we crossed the finish line, the 20 car was in. With the cards that were dealt, the 20 car was in position to make the championship event and we're not in it."
Bell, who said he could clearly see the cheating from the Chevrolet teams from behind the wheel of his car at Martinsville, says the time for NASCAR to assert their governance, in regard to 100% effort, and manufacturer teammates doing everything in their power to help others instead of focusing on their own race, is now.
Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon blocking for Byron kept the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet from dropping more and more spots with an ill-handling car after suffering damage to a toe-link late in the race.
"I mean, it's definitely, I don't know how to answer that question. But we all know how and if we are putting 100% effort into a race. I don't know what the answer is, but something has to change to get us out of this box that we're in of manufacturer help and manipulating races to help guys who are in certain positions. It's just it's not racing and it's not fair."
The Chevrolet teams blocking for Byron, keeping the driver of the No. 24 car from dropping further in the running order wasn't fair, but it's important to note that the No. 23 23XI Racing team was also penalized for a similar situation to help Bell overcome the deficit to Byron.
Had NASCAR penalized Byron and the No. 24 team for the race manipulation from the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing and No. 3 Richard Childress Racing teams, Bell would have also had to suffer a penalty for benefitting from manipulation from the No. 23 team.
"Yeah, absolutely," Bell conceded. "but we should never have been in that spot in the first place, and that's what I go back to. If the race had been run fairly, there would have been no manipulation by either side. And our hands were forced by the hands of our other competitors."
Not only did Bell have words for the issues that arose at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday at Phoenix, Bell also dove into the topic of whether the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Format is a legitimate way to determine a champion in the top form of auto racing in the United States.
"Yeah, I think that there are a lot of changes that could happen format-wise to help the way that the races play out. And I think that all of them need to be looked at and changes need to be made," Bell said.
So, what changes need to be made? Bell isn't sure, but he says the 2024 season showed off major flaws in NASCAR's Playoff format.
"I mean, the fact that we had three bottom-tiered winners in the Round of 8 that led to the Championship 4 that we have today, it's just I don't know what the answer is," Bell said. "And I think a lot of thought needs to be put into it. But I do feel like changes need to be made."
While Bell isn't competing for a championship this weekend, the first time in the last three years that he will not have a chance at winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship in the championship race at Phoenix, he'll still have a chance to win a race. Bell says if he ultimately wins the race, it may add even more disappointment to the situation, because it'll mean he likely would have won the championship.
"Yeah, it's definitely, it's gonna be tough," Bell explained. "I mean, no matter how it goes. You want to do well and we're gonna put our best foot forward to do well, but if we do well and have a successful weekend, then it's going to be even more of a bummer and a disappointment. So, yeah, it's a very perplexing feeling going into this weekend and one that I hope I never have again."
While winning would hurt, as crazy as that is to think, Bell says he still has all of the motivation in the world to get his fourth win of the 2024 season this weekend.
"The motivation is simple. You know, there's there's still a lot of a lot on the line, a lot of, you know, money on the line for sure. and we have partners that have paid to be on the 20 car for this race. I mean, it's just the list goes on and on, right? And then we have whatever it is, 600 employees, at Joe Gibbs Racing that put effort into this race car. And so it's unfair if I and my team don't put our best foot forward to try and do as well as we can, there's a lot on the line, and there should be more on the line," Bell said.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is set for Sunday, November 10. The race will be televised on NBC with coverage beginning at 3:00 PM ET. The race can also be streamed on the Peacock streaming service. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of the event.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.