NASCAR: Christopher Bell wins at Martinsville to make final round of playoffs

Note: Brad Keselowski‘s No. 6 Ford failed post-race inspection Sunday night at Martinsville Speedway, and the veteran driver was dropped from fourth place to last in the finish order of the 500-lap NASCAR Cup Series playoff race.

NASCAR said Keselowski’s car failed to meet minimum weight requirements as outlined in section 14.11.2 of the rule book.

The fourth-place finish would have been Keselowski’s best of the season. He finished fifth last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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Christopher Bell scored the most clutch victory of his career to date, winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway to advance to the Championship 4 for the first time in his career.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota needed a victory to advance to the title race at Phoenix Raceway with his championship hopes alive. Bell passed Chase Briscoe — another playoff driver who needed to win to advance to the title race — with just five laps remaining to win. Bell previously advanced to the Round of 8 with a walk-off win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course on Oct. 9.

Joining Bell in the Championship 4 are Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain. Chastain used a video-game move, throttling up and riding the wall through Turns 3 and 4 to propel himself from 10th to fifth on the final lap, edging Denny Hamlin for the spot by 0.073 seconds. Chastain also beat Hamlin for the final spot in the Championship 4 by just four points.

Briscoe assumed the lead at Lap 471 when he stayed out under caution for Landon Cassill’s crash in Turn 3. Only he and teammate Cole Custer gambled to stay out for track position while Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and William Byron elected to take two tires. Bell restarted sixth as the first car to take four tires.

Bell and Chastain will make their first bids for the NASCAR Cup Series championship on Nov. 6 at Phoenix (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Logano, who locked his way into the title bout with a win at Las Vegas, and Elliott enter Arizona each eyeing their second Cup Series championships.

Quotes

Christopher Bell – Winner

Finishing Position: 1st

What were you thinking on the final restart trying to catch Chase Briscoe?

“Mom and dad, we did it, wow. I can’t believe it, man. To come here in Martinsville, this place has always been so tough on me. Just pre-race looking up, seeing all the fans, this place is packed.

I don’t even know what to say. Just thank you so much to DeWalt, Rheem, Toyota, everyone on this Joe Gibbs Racing 20 team. They believed in me since day one. We went to Xfinity and did pretty well, struggled on the Cup side for the first little bit. They stayed with me. Very appreciative to be here. I don’t even know what to say.”

What is it about this race team that you can come through like this in back-to-back rounds?

“I say it all the time, but the driver is just a small piece of the puzzle for these races. The reason why this car won today is because it was the best car on the racetrack. Adam Stevens, Tyler William, this entire 20 group, they just never give up. When our back is against the wall, looks like it’s over, they show up and give me the fastest car out here. I don’t know, man. Words can’t describe this feeling.”

Kyle Larson

Finished: 2nd

Larson on the ability to pass in this race versus the spring race:

“It must have been a little bit easier. The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was able to drive to the lead there. The leaders lapped a lot of cars today. To me, it seemed to be very close to normal Martinsville, but maybe still a little bit harder to pass when you got within a car length.”

You’re in a unique position going into Phoenix. You’re not in the championship on the driver’s side, but you are on the owner’s side. Do you assess it like last year, just go into the championship all-out?

“There is a lot on the line for us and our team. Two opportunities to bring Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) a championship and we would love to do that.

We were decent at Phoenix (Raceway) earlier this year, but I’m sure we’ll be a lot better than we were the last time.”

Larson on Christopher Bell’s win:

“It’s pretty cool to see Christopher (Bell) earn those two wins to advance; into the Round of 8 and now into the Championship 4. That’s a pretty spectacular job with what he did there today to get to the lead earlier around the midway point, and there again late. It was fun to be a part of the battle. I was hoping I could edge him out, but it’s really cool to see the job that him and his team did the last month or so.”

Ross Chastain

Finished: 5th

What were your thoughts on those final laps?

“For me, I back up to the last pit stop and just having a chance. My pit crew gained us a few of spots and gave us a chance. We got in front of the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) there and he missed turn three a bit. He fired the first shot and then I returned it. He returned it, I returned and I was finally like ‘you know what, I’m going to wreck’ so I’m just going to let him go and I’ll run right with him. He gained a few spots; he was just better.

I did everything I could. I couldn’t keep pace and I couldn’t pass. I really struggled to pass all race long. I double-checked off turn two that we had to have two spots. We were out and I couldn’t see who the leader was. I grabbed fifth gear, got up against the wall and came to the finish.”

Would you call that a hail mary?

“I don’t know what you want to call it. I’m proud that we had a chance. That’s all that we ask for. Like I said, it was the combination of the last few weeks and the previous 34 races to get us here. That’s all we ask for.

Yeah, I took a crazy move that nobody would have ever thought. When I committed, I had no idea if it would work. With the access gate off turn four, I didn’t know if it would catch me and stop me. But I knew that I would try and it wasn’t going to hurt us.”

Are you exhilarated right now or are you exhausted?

“I’m over the moon excited. This is a life accomplishment, a career accomplishment, for everybody at Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks and Pitbull and the vision of this team. For our partners that came on board – Worldwide Express, Moose Fraternity, Jockey, AdventHealth and Kubota.

All we asked for was a chance.”

You were second at Phoenix Raceway earlier this year. A career accomplishment, but now you have another big career accomplishment ahead of you.

“Yeah, we do. I don’t know what to think about it yet. I have to digest this first.

Our No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevy wasn’t good enough for what we needed to go race for a win, but we’re racing for a championship.”

Race Results