Send not to know for whom the Bell tolls, it tolls for Creed.
A late caution, a round of pit stops, and a chaotic overtime run helped Christopher Bell win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 on Saturday (Aug. 31) at Darlington Raceway.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sheldon Creed passed Bell with nine laps to go, but a late caution sent the field down pit road before a green-white-checkered finish. Bell’s pit crew put the No. 20 Toyota on the front row alongside Cole Custer, leaving it up to those two to duke it out for the win.
Despite contact on the backstretch with two laps to go, Bell and Custer managed to avoid an accident. Bell captured his second Xfinity win in as many starts in 2024, Custer followed, while Creed settled for third, and Chase Elliott and Sammy Smith rounded out the top five.
The Winners
They say suffering builds character, and for Creed’s sake, I hope that’s true.
Once again, Creed had one of the best cars all day. And just as has happened time and time again, something keeps him from his first Xfinity win. On Saturday, his pit crew cost him two spots on the final stop before overtime.
Creed’s disappointment is understandable, but lost in the shuffle of how close he’s been to a win is how consistent he’s been. He has seven top-five finishes in the last 10 races and only two finishes worse than eighth. It’s been said plenty of times before, but it feels like Creed’s win will come sooner rather than later.
JGR, as a whole, was solid beyond Bell and Creed. Chandler Smith quietly finished eighth, and Joe Graf Jr. overcame early issues to finish 11th.
Sammy Smith needed three things today – a good run, a better points position heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway, and a reasonably sized ice bag. Two out of three ain’t bad. Smith finished fifth and ended above the cut line thanks to 10 stage points.
For the first time since Chicago, both Richard Childress Racing drivers finished in the top 10. Jesse Love took sixth, while Austin Hill finished ninth.
Shane van Gisbergen is starting to get his bearings on ovals just in time for the playoffs. SVG…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …