Christopher Bell Gets Checkers in Richmond Xfinity Race

Getty Images

RICHMOND, VA - RIS - Christopher Bell took the checkered flag in the NASCAR Xfinity race at Richmond International Raceway on Friday night.  Bell grabbed the lead from Noah Gragson shortly after a restart to begin the final stage and held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate after a late challenge to win.  

Bell led by nearly 0.6 seconds at one point during the final stage, then had Gragson close onto his rear bumper with about 10 laps to go. But just as quickly as Gragson mounted a challenge in his first career start, Bell again pulled away for his second career victory in the series.

“That was pretty special there,” Bell said. “I had to work for it.”

At the end, Bell said, he could feel his car fading and just ran as hard as he could and hoped for the best.

“I think the word teammate kind of goes out the window when you’re racing for a win, other than the fact that you try not to crash each other,” Bell said. “Track position, man. That’s what ultimately won me the race.”

 Bell climbed from fifth to second in the points race, 29 behind Sadler and two ahead of Tyler Reddick, who finished 11th.

“It’s kind of great to finish second in my first race, but I really wanted to win,” he said, adding that he had some regret for listening to his spotter, instead of his own instincts, when he thought he could catch Bell over the final 20 laps.

“I found a little something in the track, a little speed there at the end of the second stage on old tires that I kept in my memory bank until then end and I told my team, I said, ‘I got something. I’m going to try to go. Just tell me when,’” he said.

“About 18 to go, I told them, ‘I can’t wait any longer. I don’t have any more patience. I’m going to go’ and I ran Christopher down about two, three car lengths there and I used it, and my spotter said not too quick. He might catch on and you might not be able to pass him.

“I probably should have gone there with 18 to go.”

Points leader and Virginia native Elliott Sadler finished third and won a $100,000 bonus as the top finisher in the Dash for Cash. 

Sadler also won the second stage, his first stage win of the season, but restarted the final stage third and never challenged again.

“To not win the race is bad, but to win the $100,000 is great,” said Sadler, now winless in 30 career series starts on the 0.75-mile oval. “It took my car a while to get going and we knew that. It was just a little bit tighter this time than we wanted at the end of the race.”

Bell, Sadler, Matt Tifft and Austin Cindric, who finished fourth and fifth, will be in the Dash for Cash next weekend at Talladega.

Daniel Hemric, another of Friday night’s Dash for Cash contenders, had a strong early run and won the first stage, but chanced staying on the track with a failing tire late in the second stage. He eventually hit the wall and fell way off the pace, finishing 29th.

Unofficial Race Results for the 31st Annual Toyotacare 250 - Richmond Raceway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Playoff Pts, Tms Led, Laps Led, Pts, Status
1) 2, Christopher Bell #, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 250, 2, 4, 5, 3, 120, 56, Running
2) 11, Noah Gragson(i), No. 18 Switch Toyota, 250, , 2, , 2, 10, 0, Running
3) 8, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 Chevrolet Chevrolet, 250, 5, 1, 1, 2, 30, 50, Running
4) 12, Matt Tifft, No. 2 National Brain Tumor Society Chevrolet, 250, 6, 3, , , , 46, Running
5) 3, Austin Cindric #, No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford, 250, 10, 9, , , , 35, Running
6) 1, Cole Custer, No. 00 Code 3 Associates/Ford Mustang Ford, 250, 3, 5, , 1, 43, 45, Running
7) 6, Ryan Truex, No. 11 Bar Harbor/Sea Watch International Chevrolet, 250, , 10, , , , 31, Running
8) 26, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 AllSouthElectric/RepairableVehicals.com Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 13, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford, 250, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 18, Brandon Jones, No. 19 Toyota Service Centers/Mobil 1 Toyota, 250, 8, 7, , , , 34, Running
11) 10, Tyler Reddick #, No. 9 BurgerFi Chevrolet, 250, 7, 8, , , , 33, Running
12) 14, Jeb Burton, No. 3 Estes Express Lines Chevrolet, 250, 4, , , , , 32, Running
13) 5, John H. Nemechek, No. 42 Fire Alarm Services Inc. Chevrolet, 250, 9, 6, , 1, 36, 31, Running
14) 7, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Hellmann's Real Ketchup Chevrolet, 250, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 27, JJ Yeley, No. 38 Superior Essex Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 19, Alex Labbe #, No. 36 Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Gear Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 17, Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 16, Ross Chastain, No. 4 USVets911.com Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 21, Brandon Brown, No. 90 W.G. Speeks Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 9, Michael Annett, No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 24, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Mike D's BBQ Chevrolet, 249, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 23, Joey Gase, No. 35 Sparks Chevrolet, 248, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 30, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 8  Chevrolet, 247, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 35, Tony Mrakovich, No. 28 Smart Emissions Reducer Ford, 247, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 20, Joe Nemechek(i), No. 15 Safeway Chevrolet, 247, , , , , , 0, Running
26) 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 60 Nutri Chomps Ford, 246, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 28, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 FAME/fame-usa.com Chevrolet, 246, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 34, Spencer Boyd #, No. 76 Grunt Style Chevrolet, 246, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 4, Daniel Hemric, No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, 246, 1, , 1, 1, 11, 18, Running
30) 22, Kaz Grala #, No. 24 NETTTS Ford, 245, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 38, Vinnie Miller #, No. 01 JAS Expedited Trucking LLC Chevrolet, 244, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 36, BJ McLeod, No. 78  Chevrolet, 244, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 37, Josh Bilicki #, No. 45 Prevagen Toyota, 244, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 33, Chad Finchum #, No. 40 Smithbilt Holmes Toyota, 238, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 25, David Starr, No. 52 Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet, 229, , , , , , 2, Running
36) 40, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Shadow Warrior Project Dodge, 133, , , , , , 1, Clutch
37) 29, Stephen Leicht, No. 55 Jani-King Toyota, 128, , , , , , 1, Brakes
38) 39, Timmy Hill, No. 66 Chris Kyle Foundation Dodge, 107, , , , , , 1, Fuel Pump
39) 31, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 32, , , , , , 1, Brakes
40) 32, Jeff Green, No. 93  Chevrolet, 26, , , , , , 1, Electrical
ß(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 00 Mins, 36 Secs. 
.75 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 250 Laps - 187.5 Miles
Average Speed: 93.284 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.423 Seconds
Race Comments: Christopher Bell won the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway, his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for reasons indicated: No. 22 and 74 (unapproved adjustments).  Caution Flags: 5 for 39 laps: Laps: 20-24 (No. 52 Stopped On The Track [89]); 64-69 (No. 45 Incident Turn 2 [90]); 77-88 (Stage 1 Conclusion [8]); 152-162 (Stage 2 Conclusion [35]); 166-170 (No. 7, 23, 3, 60, 5 Incident Frontstretch [39]).
Lead Changes: 9 among 6 drivers: C. Custer 1-43; C. Bell # 44-68; D. Hemric 69-79; J. Nemechek 80-115; C. Bell # 116-131; E. Sadler 132-154; N. Gragson(i) 155; E. Sadler 156-162; N. Gragson(i) 163-171; C. Bell # 172-250.
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race:  Toyota Racing Development (TRD), No. 20 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race:  Christopher Bell, No. 20 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Christopher Bell, No. 20 

 

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

Read More on Cup / XFINITY / Truck news
Volume 2018, Issue 4, Posted 11:57 PM, 04.20.2018