Christopher Bell Wins at Phoenix to Race for a Championship at Homestead

Jonathan Ferrey/ Getty Images

AVONDALE, AZ – RIS – Christopher Bell had to wait until the next-to-last race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series to punch his ticket to the playoffs.  He did it with a dramatic win at Phoenix.  Starting from 38th, Bell roared through the field to win the Whelen Trusted To Perform 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race and advance to the Nov. 17 season championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Faced with a must-win situation entering the Round of 8 elimination race, Bell did exactly that. By the end of Stage 1, he had cracked the top 10. At the end of Stage 2, he was fourth. And on lap 108 of 200, he took the lead under green for the first time, forcing his way past pole winner John Hunter Nemechek for the top spot.

Bell never trailed after that, winning for the seventh time this season, the first time at Phoenix and the eighth time in his career. In a Playoff format in which victory provides redemption, Bell rallied from first-lap crashes at both Kansas and Texas to earn his spot in the final four.

“I’ll be honest, after Kansas and Texas, I just kind of accepted that we weren’t going to be able to get there,” Bell said. “I just came over here with a ‘Let’s have fun attitude.’ To start in the back, we didn’t really make our way up front that fast. I kind of got stalled out once I got into the top 15.

“I knew this thing was really fast, because (on Friday) in practice, it was really good… I’m just thankful for my team. They brought probably the best car we’ve had all year here this weekend. It’s a pleasure to drive ‘em, and a race car driver is only as good as his race car. This thing was unbelievably fast.”

Bell joined Texas winner Cole Custer in the Championship 4 Round, along with Saturday’s runner-up Daniel Hemric and sixth-place finisher Tyler Reddick, both of whom advanced on points.

Matt Tifft ran third but fell short in the Playoffs, as did regular-season champion Justin Allgaier, who won the first and second stages but sustained heavy damage to the right front of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet when Nemechek slid sideways across the track on lap 145 and clobbered Allgaier’s car.

Allgaier later lost his brakes before finishing 24th.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” said Allgaier, who lost seven spots on pit road after sliding into his stall under caution on lap 139. “But we did everything we could in the first two stages.”

Elliott Sadler left Phoenix disappointed after early contact with the No. 40 Toyota of Chad Finchum cost him track position he could never regain. Sadler finished 11th and failed to advance to Homestead in his final year as a full-time NASCAR driver.

“I made too many mistakes today to give my guys an opportunity,” Sadler said. “It’s all on me. My guys work too hard and deserve to be a part of this Championship 4 at Homestead, but I just didn’t pull my part through.

“It’s going to be an emotional week. I have one race left, and my wife and kids are coming to Homestead, and we’ll make the most of it, but it’s definitely going to be hard to look my guys in the eye, knowing we’re not part of the championship.”

Austin Cindric, whose only path to the Championship 4 was to win at ISM, finished fourth. Ryan Preece and Brandon Jones were fifth and seventh, respectively, with Custer finishing eighth. Nemechek and Spencer Gallagher completed the top 10.

Unofficial Race Results for the 20th Annual Whelen Trusted To Perform 200 - Nov 10, 2018 - ISM Raceway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 38, Christopher Bell # (P), No. 20 GameStop Just Cause 4 Toyota, 200, 10, 4, 48, 94, , , Running, 2
2) 8, Daniel Hemric (P), No. 21 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, 200, 3, 5, 49, 1, , , Running, 1
3) 10, Matt Tifft (P), No. 2 Go Green Chevrolet, 200, 6, 9, 41, , , , Running, 
4) 3, Austin Cindric # (P), No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, 200, 2, 3, 50, 3, , , Running, 1
5) 5, Ryan Preece, No. 18 Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota, 200, 8, 8, 38, , , , Running, 
6) 14, Tyler Reddick # (P), No. 9 BurgerFi Chevrolet, 200, 9, 7, 37, , , , Running, 
7) 7, Brandon Jones, No. 19 Toyota Service Centers/Mobil 1 Toyota, 200, 7, , 34, , , , Running, 
8) 2, Cole Custer (P), No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 200, 5, 6, 40, , , , Running, 
9) 1, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Fire Alarm Services Inc. Chevrolet, 200, 4, 2, 44, 33, , , Running, 2
10) 11, Spencer Gallagher, No. 23 ISM Connect Chevrolet, 200, , , 27, , , , Running, 
11) 6, Elliott Sadler (P), No. 1 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet, 200, , , 26, , , , Running, 
12) 12, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford, 200, , 10, 26, , , , Running, 
13) 15, Ryan Truex, No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 200, , , 24, , , , Running, 
14) 9, Shane Lee, No. 3 CIPT/Race to Give Chevrolet, 200, , , 23, , , , Running, 
15) 23, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet, 200, , , 22, , , , Running, 
16) 13, Michael Annett, No. 5 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 200, , , 21, , , , Running, 
17) 18, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 200, , , 20, , , , Running, 
18) 39, Ty Majeski, No. 60 Ford Ford, 199, , , 19, , , , Running, 
19) 16, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Lombard Brothers Chevrolet, 199, , , 18, , , , Running, 
20) 17, Alex Labbe #, No. 36 Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Gear Chevrolet, 199, , , 17, , , , Running, 
21) 19, JJ Yeley, No. 38 Iron Mountain Data Centers Chevrolet, 199, , , 16, , , , Running, 
22) 21, Joey Gase, No. 35 Donate Life Arizona/Sparks Chevrolet, 199, , , 15, , , , Running, 
23) 28, BJ McLeod, No. 01 Flex Glue Chevrolet, 199, , , 14, , , , Running, 
24) 4, Justin Allgaier (P), No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, 199, 1, 1, 33, 69, , , Running, 2
25) 26, Donald Theetge, No. 90 Mercedes-Benz St. Nicolas/Circuit Acura Chevrolet, 197, , , 12, , , , Running, 
26) 27, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 Flex Tape Chevrolet, 197, , , 11, , , , Running, 
27) 24, David Starr, No. 52 Whataburger Chevrolet, 197, , , 10, , , , Running, 
28) 32, Spencer Boyd #, No. 76 Grunt Style Chevrolet, 197, , , 9, , , , Running, 
29) 29, Quin Houff, No. 15 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, 196, , , 8, , , , Running, 
30) 34, Bayley Currey(i), No. 55 Rollin Smoke Barbeque/Touched by Pros Toyota, 193, , , 0, , , , Running, 
31) 31, Tyler Hill, No. 13 OCR Gaz Bar Dodge, 185, , , 6, , , , Running, 
32) 36, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Veterans 4 Child Rescue Chevrolet, 181, , , 5, , , , Running, 
33) 33, Akinori Ogata, No. 66 Toyota, 179, , , 4, , , , Running, 
34) 40, Josh Bilicki #, No. 45 Prevagen Toyota, 158, , , 3, , , , Running, 
35) 20, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 8 Chevrolet, 151, , , 2, , , , Engine, 
36) 37, Vinnie Miller #, No. 78 CorvetteParts.net/JW Transport LLC Chevrolet, 144, , , 1, , , , Ignition, 
37) 22, Chad Finchum #, No. 40 Smithbilt Homes Toyota, 143, , , 1, , , , Rear Gear, 
38) 30, Stephen Leicht, No. 99 Chevrolet, 27, , , 1, , , , Suspension, 
39) 35, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 22, , , 1, , , , Brakes, 
40) 25, Jeff Green, No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 18, , , 1, , , , Brakes,

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200 Miles1 Mile Paved 
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 59 Mins, 14 Secs.
Average Speed: 100.643 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.887 Seconds
Race Comments: Christopher Bell won the Whelen Trusted To Perform 200 at ISM Raceway, his eighth victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Caution Flags: 6 for 34 laps: 
Laps: 
2-4 (#66 Incident Turn 1 [None]);
47-53 (Stage 1 Conclusion [51]);
92-97 (Stage 2 Conclusion [35]);
137-142 (#13 Incident Backstretch [35]);
146-149 (#60, 7, 42 Incident Turn 4 [38]);
155-162 (Fluid On the Track #8 [01]).

Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers: 
J. Nemechek 1-20;
J. Allgaier (P) 21-48;
D. Hemric (P) 49;
A. Cindric # (P) 50-52;
J. Allgaier (P) 53-93;
C. Bell # (P) 94;
J. Nemechek 95-107;
C. Bell # (P) 108-200.

Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #20 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Christopher Bell, #20 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Christopher Bell, #20