Christopher Bell Rings Up Fourth Straight Loudon Xfinity Win

(Loudon, NH – June 22, 2024 – RIS) Christopher Bell made an overtime last lap pass on both Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed for the win in the SciApps 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 

The SciApps 200 NASCAR Xfinity race was started on a damp track with the field on rain tires after officials decided to mandate the use of the treaded tires. This was the first time that Xfinity cars have raced on the rain tires on an oval track. With weather threatening to get worse later in the day, drivers went onto the track earlier than the scheduled 3:30 starting time. Friday’s qualifying session got cancelled due to rain, with Cole Custer and Chandler Smith on the front row according to the NASCAR rulebook.

Justin Bonsignore started in 25th on the grid after winning the NASCAR Modified race earlier on Saturday.

At the green flag, Matt DiBedetto’s car would not shift correctly and he fell back to next to last, with the entire field behind him avoiding a major problem. The yellow flag came out after the tenth lap with NASCAR mandating a change to the dry tires. Cole Custer, Austin Hill, Sammy Smith, Christopher Bell and Sheldon Creed led the field out of the pits with Custer continuing the lead he held from the start. Hill took the lead in the race, with Custer moving to the inside and into the lead on the next lap. 

Another caution came out on lap 27 when Patrick Emerling’s car stalled on the track and had to be retrieved. Parker Kligerman spun after AJ Allmendinger might have tapped him but Alex Bowman finished the job, spinning Kligerman around. No other cars were involved and Kligerman avoided contact with the wall, continuing after stopping for new tires.

Sammy Smith drove into the lead but Sam Mayer quickly moved ahead and into the lead approaching the end of the first stage. Mayer led Smith to the end of the stage by over a second, with Riley Herbst, Allmendinger and Allgaier the top five in the stage.

Christopher Bell and Justin Bonsignore headed the restart, ahead of a battle for third place among Creed, Hill and Heim. Custer and Bell led at the end of the stage to set up the longest stage in the race to the finish.

Armani Williams’ spin in the fourth turn on lap 100 brought out another quick caution. Cole Custer and Christopher Bell led again, with Justin Bonsignore racing to third place in his first Xfinity Series race, followed by Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed as the balance of the top five with 70 laps left to run.

Green flag pit stops started with about 50 laps left in the race, Corey Heim’s front tire changer had the hose for the air gun get caught under the right front tire, had to call for a spare gun and then the car ran over the hose and gun leaving the pits, leading to a penalty. Rookie Travis Kvapil led close to 20 laps before pitting, then Armani Williams’ spin on lap 168 caused the seventh yellow flag of the race with Cole Custer cycling back into the lead, followed by Christopher Bell, Sheldon Creed, Bonsignore and Austin Hill.

Kvapil, Love, Custer, Bell and Smith headed the field under the green flag to restart, with Kvapil still on the used tires. On the first green flag lap, Chandler Smith spun out of the lead group without tangling with another car and stopped to replace the flat-spotted tires. Justin Bonsignore and Sam Mayer got together on the restart with Austin Hill getting more damage when Shane Van Gisbergen couldn’t avoid his spinning car. Cole Custer had passed for the lead just before the caution came out, 

Custer chose the outer row for the restart, with Kvapil the inner row, while Christopher Bell, who has won the last three races at NHMS in third place, flanked by Jesse Love. Twelve laps remained to race at the gree with Custer jumping out to the lead followed by Bell but a crash involving Nathan Byrd and Hailie Deegan sent Byrd’s car backing hard into the wall and out of the race. 

Custer and Creed held the front row at the restart and Bell charged into a challenge for the leadand a caution came out for Mason Massey’s spin that ripped the door skin off of Ryan Ellis’ car, breaking up the foam pad inside the door and sending the race into overtime.

Custer chose the outside row, with Bell to his left, with Creed behing Cusetr and Allgaier following Bell. Custer got a better jump at the flag with Sheldon Creed moving to his inside after one lap and Bell moving around them both into the lead on the last lap for his fourth straight Xfinity win at New Hampshire motor Speedway.

“Just really fortunate,” said Bell. “I feel bad for Sheldon [also a Joe Gibbs Racing driver] – he did everything right. He got Cole loose and that’s what opened the door for me. We got lucky there.”

“Maybe I could have protected a little bit more,” said Custer after the race.

Unofficial Results: Sci Aps 200, June 22, 2024, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Pts, Status
1) 23, Christopher Bell(i), No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota, 203, , 1, 2, 43, 0, Running
2) 5, Sheldon Creed, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota, 203, , 4, 1, 1, 42, Running
3) 1, Cole Custer, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford, 203, , 3, 5, 114, 42, Running
4) 12, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 203, 5, 6, , , 44, Running
5) 38, Carson Kvapil, No. 88 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, 203, 7, , 2, 24, 36, Running
6) 9, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 203, 8, , , , 34, Running
7) 8, Parker Kligerman, No. 48 Spiked Lite Coolers Chevrolet, 203, , 10, , , 31, Running
8) 4, Riley Herbst, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford, 203, 3, , , , 37, Running
9) 37, Alex Bowman(i), No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 203, 6, , , , 0, Running
10) 7, Corey Heim(i), No. 26 Yahoo! Toyota, 203, , 7, , , 0, Running
11) 22, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Campers Inn RV Chevrolet, 203, 4, , , , 33, Running
12) 6, Sammy Smith, No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 203, 2, , 1, 3, 34, Running
13) 15, Jesse Love #, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 203, , , 1, 3, 24, Running
14) 29, Brandon Jones, No. 9 Menards/Watts Chevrolet, 203, , 8, , , 26, Running
15) 2, Chandler Smith, No. 81 Smith General Contracting Toyota, 203, , 5, 1, 1, 28, Running
16) 21, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Frontline Fire Protection Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 21, Running
17) 10, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 38 Sci Aps Ford, 203, , , , , 20, Running
18) 20, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Bommarito.com Chevrolet, 203, 9, , , , 21, Running
19) 28, Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 18, Running
20) 3, Sam Mayer, No. 1 10X Health Chevrolet, 203, 1, , 1, 9, 27, Running
21) 11, Anthony Alfredo, No. 5 Steele Group/Anchor Advisors Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 16, Running
22) 18, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Impel Union Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 15, Running
23) 25, Justin Bonsignore, No. 19 M3 Technology's Toyota, 203, 10, 2, 1, 3, 24, Running
24) 17, Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 13, Running
25) 13, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 203, , 9, 1, 2, 14, Running
26) 32, Kyle Weatherman, No. 91 DriveSmartWarranty.com Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 11, Running
27) 24, Parker Retzlaff, No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 10, Running
28) 33, Blaine Perkins, No. 29 AutoParkit.com Ford, 203, , , , , 9, Running
29) 35, Glen Reen, No. 35 New Wave Bath Chevrolet, 203, , , , , 8, Running
30) 34, Garrett Smithley, No. 4 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, 202, , , , , 7, Running
31) 31, Mason Massey(i), No. 14 Brunt Workwear Chevrolet, 202, , , , , 0, Running
32) 19, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Onsite Power Academy Ford, 201, , , , , 5, Running
33) 30, Hailie Deegan #, No. 15 VIVA Tequila Seltzer Ford, 201, , , , , 4, Running
34) 36, Armani Williams, No. 6 Doug Flutie Jr Fdn for Autism Ford, 198, , , , , 3, Running
35) 27, Patrick Emerling, No. 07 Laquerre's Power Sports Chevrolet, 197, , , , , 2, Running
36) 16, Ryan Ellis, No. 43 United Construction & Forestry Chevrolet, 196, , , , , 1, DVP
37) 26, Nathan Byrd, No. 92 ClearCore Solutions Chevrolet, 185, , , , , 1, Accident
38) 14, Leland Honeyman #, No. 42 RANDCO Industries Chevrolet, 95, , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 203 Laps, 214.774 Miles
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 35 Mins, 21 Secs.
Average Speed: 82.951 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.254 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 1, 8, 98, 16, 7, 17, 88, 39, 27, 19
Stage 2 Top 10: 20, 19, 00, 18, 81, 7, 26, 9, 21, 48

Comments: Christopher Bell has won the SciAps 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, his 18th career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty. for the reason(s) indicated:  No. 31 (inspection violation). 

Failed to Qualify: (1) No. 74 Jade Buford.

Cautions: 11 for 58 laps;
Laps: 12-16 (Competition Caution [None]);
29-33 (No. 07 Slow On Track [None]);
36-39 (No. 16, 48, 98 Incident Turn 1 [6]);
47-52 (Stage 1 Conclusion [07]);
92-98 (Stage 2 Conclusion [42]);
102-105 (No. 6 Spin Turn 4 [15]);
169-174 (No. 6 Spin Backstretch [9]);
177-181 (No. 81 Spin Turn 3 [14]);
183-188 (No. 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 19, 21, 44, 91, 97 Incident Turn 2 [29]);
190-194 (No. 15, 92 Incident Turn 4 [31]);
197-201 (No. 14 Spin Turn 2 [35]).

Lead Changes: 15 among 10 drivers;
C. Custer 1-16;
A. Hill 17-18;
C. Custer 19-36;
S. Smith 37-39;
S. Mayer 40-48;
J. Bonsignore 49-51;
C. Bell(i) 52-93;
C. Custer 94-149;
C. Smith 150;
C. Kvapil 151-166;
C. Custer 167-170;
J. Love # 171-173;
C. Kvapil 174-181;
C. Custer 182-201;
S. Creed 202;
C. Bell(i) 203.

Unofficial Points: Sci Aps 200, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Rank,  Driver,  Car,  Starts,  GL,  Points,  Ldr,  Nxt,  Race Wins,  Stage Wins,  Playoff Pts
1) Cole Custer,  00,  16,  0,  589,  0,  0,  0,  2,  2
2) Chandler Smith,  81,  16,  0,  574,  -15,  15,  2,  5,  15
3) Justin Allgaier,  7,  16,  1,  547,  -42,  27,  1,  10,  15
4) Austin Hill,  21,  16,  -1,  520,  -69,  27,  2,  2,  12
5) Sheldon Creed,  18,  16,  1,  484,  -105,  36,  0,  0,  0
6) Riley Herbst,  98,  16,  1,  478,  -111,  6,  0,  1,  1
7) Jesse Love #,  2,  16,  -2,  466,  -123,  12,  1,  4,  9
8) AJ Allmendinger,  16,  16,  0,  443,  -146,  23,  0,  0,  0
9) Parker Kligerman,  48,  16,  0,  436,  -153,  7,  0,  1,  1
10) Sam Mayer,  1,  16,  0,  423,  -166,  13,  2,  1,  11
11) Sammy Smith,  8,  16,  0,  415,  -174,  8,  0,  0,  0
12) Ryan Sieg,  39,  16,  1,  384,  -205,  31,  0,  0,  0
13) Shane Van Gisbergen #,  97,  16,  -1,  383,  -206,  1,  2,  1,  11
14) Anthony Alfredo,  5,  16,  0,  343,  -246,  40,  0,  0,  0
15) Brandon Jones,  9,  16,  0,  333,  -256,  10,  0,  0,  0
16) Brennan Poole,  44,  16,  1,  293,  -296,  40,  0,  0,  0
17) Parker Retzlaff,  31,  16,  -1,  286,  -303,  7,  0,  0,  0
18) Josh Williams,  11,  16,  0,  250,  -339,  36,  0,  0,  0
19) Jeremy Clements,  51,  16,  0,  243,  -346,  7,  0,  0,  0
20) Leland Honeyman #,  42,  16,  0,  228,  -361,  15,  0,  0,  0
21) Jeb Burton,  27,  16,  3,  211,  -378,  17,  0,  0,  0
22) Kyle Weatherman,  91,  16,  1,  210,  -379,  1,  0,  0,  0
23) Ryan Ellis,  43,  16,  -2,  206,  -383,  4,  0,  0,  0
24) Aric Almirola,  ,  5,  -2,  202,  -387,  4,  1,  3,  0
25) Kyle Sieg,  28,  14,  0,  194,  -395,  8,  0,  0,  0
26) Matt DiBenedetto,  38,  11,  2,  181,  -408,  13,  0,  0,  0
27) Blaine Perkins,  29,  16,  -1,  176,  -413,  5,  0,  0,  0
28) Hailie Deegan #,  15,  16,  1,  164,  -425,  12,  0,  0,  0
29) Ryan Truex,  ,  6,  -2,  163,  -426,  1,  1,  0,  5
30) Garrett Smithley,  4,  14,  1,  141,  -448,  22,  0,  0,  0
31) Josh Bilicki,  ,  8,  -1,  139,  -450,  2,  0,  0,  0
32) Carson Kvapil,  88,  4,  1,  129,  -460,  10,  0,  0,  0
33) Dawson Cram,  ,  12,  -1,  106,  -483,  23,  0,  0,  0
34) Austin Green,  ,  2,  0,  85,  -504,  21,  0,  0,  0
35) Patrick Emerling,  07,  12,  0,  80,  -509,  5,  0,  0,  0
36) Joey Gase,  ,  7,  0,  74,  -515,  6,  0,  0,  0
37) Bj Mcleod,  ,  4,  0,  69,  -520,  5,  0,  0,  0
38) David Starr,  ,  5,  0,  66,  -523,  3,  0,  0,  0
39) Jj Yeley,  ,  5,  0,  61,  -528,  5,  0,  0,  0
40) Ed Jones,  ,  3,  0,  57,  -532,  4,  0,  0,  0
41) Sage Karam,  ,  4,  0,  45,  -544,  12,  0,  0,  0
42) Nick Leitz,  ,  3,  0,  41,  -548,  4,  0,  0,  0
43) Jordan Anderson,  ,  3,  0,  40,  -549,  1,  0,  0,  0
44) Alex Labbe,  ,  2,  0,  38,  -551,  2,  0,  0,  0
45) Brad Perez,  ,  2,  0,  32,  -557,  6,  0,  0,  0
46) Bubba Pollard,  ,  1,  0,  31,  -558,  1,  0,  0,  0
47) Logan Bearden,  ,  3,  0,  31,  -558,  0,  0,  0,  0
48) Caesar Bacarella,  ,  1,  0,  30,  -559,  1,  0,  0,  0
49) Natalie Decker,  ,  2,  0,  27,  -562,  3,  0,  0,  0
50) Patrick Gallagher,  ,  2,  0,  25,  -564,  2,  0,  0,  0
51) Justin Bonsignore,  19,  1,  -51,  24,  -565,  1,  0,  0,  0
52) Myatt Snider,  ,  1,  -1,  18,  -571,  6,  0,  0,  0
53) Dexter Bean,  ,  1,  -1,  17,  -572,  1,  0,  0,  0
54) Nathan Byrd,  92,  2,  0,  17,  -572,  0,  0,  0,  0
55) Daniil Kvyat,  ,  1,  -2,  16,  -573,  1,  0,  0,  0
56) Andre Castro,  ,  1,  -1,  14,  -575,  2,  0,  0,  0
57) Preston Pardus,  ,  2,  -1,  13,  -576,  1,  0,  0,  0
58) Chad Finchum,  ,  2,  -1,  12,  -577,  1,  0,  0,  0
59) Frankie Muniz(i),  ,  2,  -1,  11,  -578,  1,  0,  0,  0
60) Rc Enerson,  ,  1,  -1,  9,  -580,  2,  0,  0,  0
61) Boris Said,  ,  1,  -1,  9,  -580,  0,  0,  0,  0
62) Glen Reen,  35,  2,  3,  9,  -580,  0,  0,  0,  0
63) Cj Mclaughlin,  ,  2,  -2,  6,  -583,  3,  0,  0,  0
64) Thomas Annunziata,  ,  1,  -2,  3,  -586,  3,  0,  0,  0
65) Armani Williams,  6,  1,  -65,  3,  -586,  0,  0,  0,  0
66) Ryan Vargas,  ,  2,  -3,  2,  -587,  1,  0,  0,  0
67) Akinori Ogata,  ,  1,  -3,  1,  -588,  1,  0,  0,  0
68) John Hunter Nemechek(i),  ,  8,  -2,  0,  -589,  1,  1,  0,  0
69) Kyle Larson(i),  ,  1,  -2,  0,  -589,  0,  1,  0,  0
70) Chase Elliott(i),  ,  1,  -2,  0,  -589,  0,  1,  0,  0
71) Christopher Bell(i),  20,  1,  -71,  0,  -589,  0,  1,  1,  0
72) Corey Heim(i),  26,  8,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
73) Taylor Gray(i),  ,  7,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
74) Kyle Busch(i),  ,  1,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
75) Jeffrey Earnhardt(i),  ,  2,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
76) Ty Gibbs(i),  ,  3,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  1,  0
77) Ross Chastain(i),  ,  1,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
78) Alex Bowman(i),  17,  1,  -78,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
79) Daniel Dye(i),  ,  4,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
80) Noah Gragson(i),  ,  1,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
81) William Byron(i),  ,  2,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
82) Mason Massey(i),  14,  2,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
83) Brett Moffitt(i),  ,  1,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
84) Kaden Honeycutt(i),  ,  1,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
85) Dean Thompson(i),  ,  1,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
86) Daniel Su?rez(i),  ,  1,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
87) Ty Dillon(i),  ,  1,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
88) Jade Buford,  ,  0,  -3,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
89) Kaz Grala(i),  ,  0,  -5,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
90) Stanton Barrett,  ,  0,  -4,  0,  -589,  0,  0,  0,  0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series