Christopher Bell Dominates Xfinity race at New Hampshire

Getty Omages - Brian Lawdermilk

LOUDON, NH – RIS – Christopher Bell dominated Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway by leading 186 of the 200 scheduled laps. The race followed a familiar pattern. After each restart, Bell would pull away steadily as the drivers behind him contested second, third and fourth place. The only time the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota fell out of the lead was a pit stop on Lap 33, when seven other cars stayed on the track.

Bell restarted eighth on Lap 38 and drove up to second place before the first stage ended on Lap 45. Aside from that, the 24-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, was in full control. When Stage 2 ended, Bell had an advantage of more than six seconds over eventual third-place finisher Justin Allgaier.

With the win, Bell’s second in a row on the 1.058-mile track, he is again tied with Cole Custer for the most wins on the season with five.

Bell and Custer have finished 1-2 four times this year.

“I just had a really good race car,” Bell said. “This track’s been really good to us and our team.”

The top five was completed by Justin Allgaier, Tyler Reddick and Paul Menard.

Bell’s win is the 13th of his Xfinity career in just his 59th start, tying him for the most by that point with Darrell Waltrip.

Custer, who started from the pole, never led a lap.

“There at the end I felt like we had a car that could compete with him, but I just wasn’t driving the car right at the start of the race and I got us behind on adjustments,” Custer said. “From there, we were kind of playing catchup.”

The first stage sowed nothing about what was about to happen. Brandon Jones won in a three-wide finish over Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick. In the second stage, Christopher Bell won with a 6.5 second lead over Justin Allgaier.

From then on, it was all Bell. His margin of victory was 4.068 seconds.

Unofficial Race Results: 30th Annual ROXOR 200, July 20, 2019, New Hampshire Motor Speedway - 1.058 - Mile Paved

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts
1) 2, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem-Watts Toyota, 200, 2, 1, 59, Running, 2, 186, 6
2) 1, Cole Custer, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 200, 7, 3, 47, Running, , , 
3) 8, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT/Rev 1 Energy Chevrolet, 200, 5, 2, 49, Running, , , 
4) 11, Tyler Reddick, No. 2 Gimme Radio/Megadeth Chevrolet, 200, 3, 4, 48, Running, , , 
5) 4, Paul Menard(i), No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford, 200, 9, 5, 0, Running, , , 
6) 5, Chase Briscoe #, No. 98 Ford Performance Ford, 200, 10, 6, 37, Running, , , 
7) 9, Ryan Truex, No. 8 Bar Harbor Chevrolet, 200, 6, 7, 39, Running, , , 
8) 15, Ryan Sieg, No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 200, 4, , 36, Running, 1, 1, 
9) 6, Brandon Jones, No. 19 First Foundation Toyota, 200, 1, , 38, Running, 2, 13, 1
10) 10, Noah Gragson #, No. 9 Switch Chevrolet, 200, , , 27, Running, , , 
11) 16, Michael Annett, No. 1 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet, 200, , 10, 27, Running, , , 
12) 3, Austin Cindric, No. 22 MoneyLion Ford, 200, , 8, 28, Running, , , 
13) 13, Justin Haley #, No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 200, 8, , 27, Running, , , 
14) 12, Kaz Grala, No. 21 HotScream Chevrolet, 200, , , 23, Running, , , 
15) 14, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 200, , , 22, Running, , , 
16) 21, Brandon Brown #, No. 86 Vero Chevrolet, 200, , , 21, Running, , , 
17) 20, Gray Gaulding, No. 08 Panini Chevrolet, 199, , , 20, Running, , , 
18) 25, Ray Black II, No. 07 ISOKERN Fireplaces & Chimneys Chevrolet, 199, , , 19, Running, , , 
19) 27, Josh Williams, No. 36 Starbrite Star Tron/Sleepwell Chevrolet, 199, , , 18, Running, , , 
20) 31, Matt Mills, No. 5 J.F. Electric Chevrolet, 198, , , 17, Running, , , 
21) 36, BJ McLeod, No. 01 Flex Glue Chevrolet, 198, , , 16, Running, , , 
22) 19, Alex Labbe, No. 90 Bassett Gutters & More Chevrolet, 197, , , 15, Running, , , 
23) 18, Stephen Leicht, No. 4 Flex Seal/Contec Chevrolet, 197, , , 14, Running, , , 
24) 30, Garrett Smithley, No. 0 Flex Tape Chevrolet, 197, , , 13, Running, , , 
25) 26, Tommy Joe Martins, No. 99 Diamond Gusset Jeans Toyota, 197, , , 12, Running, , , 
26) 32, David Starr, No. 52 Franklin Signs & Graphics Chevrolet, 196, , , 11, Running, , , 
27) 28, Vinnie Miller, No. 78 JW Transport Chevrolet, 195, , , 10, Running, , , 
28) 37, CJ McLaughlin(i), No. 39 CMR Roofing Chevrolet, 192, , , 0, Running, , , 
29) 7, Harrison Burton(i), No. 18 Dex Imaging Toyota, 169, , 9, 0, Suspension, , , 
30) 22, Chad Finchum, No. 42 MBM Motorsports Toyota, 167, , , 7, Running, , , 
31) 34, Joey Gase, No. 35 Donate Life/Pro Master Toyota, 159, , , 6, Running, , , 
32) 38, Tyler Matthews, No. 15 Line Tec Services Chevrolet, 154, , , 5, Running, , , 
33) 29, Shane Lee, No. 28 mybackstory.com Toyota, 112, , , 4, Engine, , , 
34) 35, Timmy Hill, No. 66 MBM Motorsports Toyota, 92, , , 3, Brakes, , , 
35) 33, Bayley Currey(i), No. 17 RWR Chevrolet, 51, , , 0, Vibration, , , 
36) 17, John Hunter Nemechek #, No. 23 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet, 31, , , 1, Accident, , , 
37) 24, Landon Cassill, No. 89 Visone RV Chevrolet, 22, , , 1, Carburetor, , , 
38) 23, Carl Long, No. 13 CrashClaimsR.US Toyota, 16, , , 1, Rear Gear, , ,
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 1 Mins, 39 Secs.
Total Race Length: 200 Laps, 211.6 Miles

Average Speed: 104.365 MPH
Margin of Victory: 4.068 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 20, 2, 93, 7, 8, 00, 11, 12, 98
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 7, 00, 2, 12, 98, 8, 22, 18, 1

Race Comments: Christopher Bell won the ROXOR 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His 13th victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: No. 22 (engine change), No. 78 (driver change) and No. 28 (missing driver intros).

Failed to Qualify: (3) 68 Dillon Bassett, 38 Josh Bilicki, 74 Camden Murphy(i).

Caution Flags: 5 for 28 laps;
Laps: 33-37 (No. 23 Incident Turn 1 [52]);
47-52 (Stage 1 Conclusion [01]);
92-98 (Stage 2 Conclusion  [36]);
142-147 (Debris [08]);
155-158 (No. 18, 12 Incident Turn 1 [36]).

Lead Changes: 5 among 3 drivers;
C. Custer 0;
C. Bell 1-33;
B. Jones 34-36;
R. Sieg 37;
B. Jones 38-47;
C. Bell 48-200.

Mobil 1 Driver of the Race:  Christopher Bell, No. 20 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Chase Briscoe, No. 98