Another NASCAR Playoff Scandal in Virginia

RIDGEWAY, Va. — Ryan Blaney may have passed Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott late to win the Xfinity 500 and make the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4. But his thrilling comeback will be forever overshadowed by the shenanigans of Christopher Bell, William Byron and others around them during the closing laps Sunday evening (Nov. 3) at Martinsville Speedway.

While Blaney was cruising to his second straight fall win at the paperclip-shaped oval, controversy reigned behind him in the battle for the last Championship 4 spot.

For most of the final stage, Byron had it, then Bell took it over with a wild move on the final lap.

Then, about half an hour later, all eyes trained on both drivers on pit road, that move was deemed a “safety violation” in the eyes of NASCAR officiating.

Byron was back in.

“I don’t know what to think,” Byron said. “I have a hard time feeling happy in this situation. We just raced as hard as we could, raced within the rules.”

Byron and Bell were in a tight points battle in the closing laps. Byron was in the top five but had begun to drop spots. Meanwhile, Bell was trapped a lap down, with fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace as the only lapped car ahead of him.

The edge went to Byron by one point as the field took the white flag. But then, Wallace significantly slowed, and Bell got around him. Bell then slid into the wall in turn 3 and stayed it in until the checkered flag.

The result was a tie between Byron and Bell, with Bell getting the advantage thanks to his second place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier in the Round of 8. Byron’s best finish in the round was fourth.

NASCAR reviewed what happened for about 27 minutes before declaring Bell committed a safety violation for his driving. The penalty for that put Bell as the last car one lap down, a loss of four spots, four points, and a Championship 4 appearance.

“I made a mistake, and I slid into the wall, and unfortunately, they ruled that as a safety violation, I guess,” Bell said.

The wall ride by Bell is what NASCAR took issue with. It’s a move that was outlawed after Ross Chastain used it to gain several spots and make the Championship 4 in 2022.

“It’s just the rule,” Byron said. “We sat in a meeting two years ago at…