Questions Answered After NASCAR Makes Fans Wait for Nothing

Who… should you be talking about after the race?

Christopher Bell finally found a stroke of good luck in his largely luckless season, and found victory lane in doing so at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Bell took home his first crown jewel in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday (May 26) after NASCAR called the race due to weather after 249 of the race’s scheduled 400 laps (373.5 miles).

Bell’s win wasn’t a product of staying out on a pit stop and hoping to get luck (a la David Reutimann in 2009 in this very race) like most rain-shortened races. No, Bell led the most laps (90) of anybody and was likely going to be hard to beat regardless of weather. Bell won stage one and stage two, but did not receive credit for a stage three victory as it didn’t reach its conclusion.

Will he get credit for eight playoff points and 70 total points on the evening with the extra stage? Hard to say, but I digress.

And don’t forget Justin Allgaier. Normally, 13th would be nothing to scoff at. However, Allgaier wasn’t even supposed to be in this race if it weren’t for weather sabotaging Kyle Larson‘s attempt at pulling the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 double.

When rain delayed the start of the Indy 500, it put Larson and Hendrick Motorsports in a tough situation: Skip out on the Greatest Spectacle in Racing to go compete in Charlotte or race in the biggest race of his life and leave Allgaier to start the 600, potentially jeopardizing his playoff eligibility (but more on that later).

The latter option was chosen, and Allgaier, an Xfinity Series regular, was left to start the race in Larson’s No. 5. However, because of the driver change, Allgaier had to start at the rear. While Allgaier’s race was largely uneventful, he worked his way up to 13th by the time Larson got to the track in the middle of stage three.

Any driver change would’ve required the No. 5 car to start from the rear when the race was resumed. However, the race was never resumed. NASCAR called the race and Allgaier finished 13th in a race he wasn’t even supposed to be in.

And also don’t forget our troops. With Monday (May 27) being Memorial Day, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank everyone who has served our country for nearly 250 years and made the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy the racing we see week in and week out.

This weekend is really about remembering them. We just get to enjoy racing as a mere bonus.