Christopher Bell brought his best stuff to the desert, leading 50 laps for his first career Phoenix Raceway victory. With Phoenix once again hosting the championship race, collecting this checkered flag is a big boost to Bell’s confidence. On the other hand, the win did not come without adversity, particularly in the pit box. Let’s examine the biggest pit road plotlines from Phoenix.
Stage Three Cautions Mix Up Pit Strategy
Through the first two stages, the color yellow rarely made an appearance. In the first 185 laps, there were only three cautions, just one of them for incident way back on lap 5.
But there is a saying in racing: Cautions breed cautions. That is exactly what happened early in the final stage, with three cautions over the course of just 19 laps. This led to a split in strategy, featuring three rounds of pit stops: the first on lap 199, the second on lap 209, and the last group getting service on lap 217. Two teams benefited greatly from the shakeup.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Both Bell and Ty Gibbs experienced pit stop setbacks prior to stage three. Gibbs led the opening 57 laps and ran consistently in the top five before a 17-second pit stop under green on lap 117 sent the sophomore driver of the No. 54 Toyota spiraling outside the top 10. A little later, on the yellow flag pit stops following stage two, the No. 20 crew had trouble changing the right rear tire, pushing Bell back to 10th after winning stage two.
The JGR teams needed an opportunity to regain their track position, and the string of stage three cautions gave them that chance. Bell took on four fresh tires on lap 217, while No. 54 crew chief Chris Gayle dialed up a two-tire call to get Gibbs back in contention.
JGR reaped the benefits in the final running order with Bell’s win and Gibbs’ third-place finish. Even Martin Truex Jr., who initially stayed out before pitting with 41 laps left, made the most of his fresh rubber at the end to navigate back to seventh.
A great crew chief can make all the difference, and pit calls like these prove that JGR’s drivers and teams are in good hands atop the pit box.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher made little noise early on in the desert, practicing and qualifying outside the top 10 and not scoring any stage one points.
After finishing ninth and 10th in stage two, respectively, Keselowski…
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