Christopher Bell Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – The second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs enters the gauntlet. Following the opening race of the Round of 12 last weekend at Texas that saw William Byron lock himself into the next round, the remaining 11 contenders head to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s running of the Yellawood 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full displayRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas – Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron took the lead on a restart with six laps remaining and held off the field to claim Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 victory on a steamy-hot highly-dramatic afternoon of NASCAR Cup Series Playoff action at Texas Motor Speedway. It marks a historic 300th victory for the championship Hendrick Motorsports organization – the most in NASCAR history for a NASCAR Cup Series team – and is the series-best, personal-high single-season sixth victory of the year forRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas – Bubba Wallace turned in a dramatic final lap of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday to claim the pole position for Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Wallace’s qualifying lap of 188.337 mph in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota around the 1.5-mile Fort Worth high banks just edged the hometown favorite, Texas-native Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford by a slight .039-second. It’s Wallace’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Denny Hamlin landed a knockout punch in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.  NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr. survived to fight another round.  Bubba Wallace rescued himself from the brink of elimination from the series Playoffs and advanced to the Round of 12 by four points.  Kevin Harvick, winner of the first elimination Playoff in 2014, won’t be around to fight for the title in his final season of Cup racing. He joins defendingRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – For Christopher Bell, Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session brought an unprecedented accomplishment.  For Martin Truex Jr., Bell’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, it brought a sense of relief—if that’s possible for a driver trying to climb above the cut line in the series Playoffs.  In the final round of time trials at the 0.533-mile short track, Bell turned a lap in 15.109 seconds (126.997 mph), edging another teammate, Denny Hamlin, by 0.008 seconds (126.930 mph) for the top starting spotRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BRISTOL, Tenn. – Driver Kyle Busch said Friday that the swap of pit crews with Austin Dillon before Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was a collaborative decision at Richard Childress Racing that involved both drivers.  The swap, which switches all pit crew members except for the fuelers, took place because Dillon’s crew has been faster and more consistent throughout the season, said Busch, who is in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, where Dillon is not.  “If you can takeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – With a bold move to the front of the field in overtime, Tyler Reddick won Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 and left his car owner frustrated at the end of the second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race at Kansas Speedway. Reddick beat Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin to the finish line by 0.327 seconds. Hamlin led 63 laps and was more than two seconds ahead of Reddick when Playoff driver Chris Buescher blew a right rearRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Christopher Bell earned a second chance on Saturday. For the second straight NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race, Bell will start from the pole position after a blistering lap at 180.276 mph (29.954 seconds) in the final round of qualifying for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell beat last Sunday’s Darlington winner Kyle Larson (179.826 mph) by 0.075 seconds to win his fourth Busch Light Pole Award of theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – After edging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin by .026 seconds in Saturday’s time trials, Christopher Bell will lead the field to green in the first NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race of 2023—Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  Bell navigated the venerable 1.366-mile speedway in 29.065 seconds (169.193 mph) to claim his third Busch Light Pole Award in the last eight races and first at the Track Too ToughRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – William Byron added to his season highlight reel earning his first career NASCAR Cup Series road course victory with a dominant win in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen at historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. It marks a career best fifth victory of the season – tops in the NASCAR Cup Series and most for him in a single season in a six-year career in NASCAR’s top series. And the 25-year-old Charlotte native had to earn this one – holdingRead More