For the third year in a row, the playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway ended in bitter disappointment for Christopher Bell.
In 2022, he got collected in an altercation between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson and was knocked out of the race through no fault of his own. Last year, Bell was chasing down Larson for the lead in the closing laps but could not get past the No. 5 by the time the checkered flag flew.
Sunday’s (Oct. 20) race had more in common with last year’s, and it may have been Bell’s most brutal Las Vegas loss. He had the dominant car and was running away with the race for most of the day. However, with fuel mileage questionable for all the frontrunners, Bell made a final pit stop with around 40 laps to go. A handful of other drivers, including Joey Logano, opted to stay on track and try to stretch their fuel to the end. Bell’s goal thus became making up all the time that was lost by the pit stop.
The alternate strategies produced a nail-biting finish. At first, Bell was faster than Logano and leader Daniel Suarez by more than one second per lap. But as the run went on and Bell’s fresher tires lost their advantage, his pace slowed down. Logano also got a helping hand from teammate Ryan Blaney, who was out of contention after an earlier accident but still drafted with Logano as the laps ticked away. Bell ultimately came up short to Logano, who held the lead and became the first playoff driver to lock into the championship race.
Had the race been one or two laps longer, Bell almost assuredly would have won.
“I don’t know and I don’t think I’ve come to terms (with it) yet,” Bell said. “Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, pit crew did an amazing job, Adam (Stevens) called a great race. Did everything we needed to put this Rheem Camry in victory lane, and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.”
The good news for Bell is that he is not in unfamiliar territory. The No. 20 team’s missed opportunities at Las Vegas the past two years only put them in a hole temporarily. When given another chance during the Round of 8, Bell and his team scored wins and advanced to the Championship 4 both times.
Two years ago, Bell advanced with a win in the final Round of 8 race at Martinsville Speedway. He entered that event 33 points below the cut line. It was not a mathematical must-win situation, but it was a lot of ground to…
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