Christopher Bell and Joe Gibbs Racing were the class of the field in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
However, it didn’t turn into a confetti shower in victory lane at the 1.5-mile oval after Bell led a race-high 155 laps.
With fuel strategy becoming the name of the game late in the South Point 400, Bell pitted for service with 37 laps to go. That pinned the driver of the No. 20 Toyota into chase mode as drivers like Daniel Suárez and Joey Logano elected to pit earlier in the sequence.
The final stint saw Bell tirelessly charge from 11th, more than 30 seconds behind the leaders to second, less than half-a-second. However, Bell was unable to challenge as Logano secured the win to advance to the Championship 4.
After a dominant run, Bell was left empty-handed.
“I don’t know. I don’t know, and I don’t think I’ve come to terms with it yet,” Bell began. “Just a bummer. Everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, the pit crew did an amazing job, Adam (Stevens, crew chief) called an amazing race.
“We did everything we needed to put the Rheem Camry into victory lane, and unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be today.”
While disappointed, Bell is ready to flush that feeling and focus forward to Homestead-Miami Speedway next week, where he secured a win last year to make the Championship 4.
“It is a whole new race next week,” Bell said. “This track means nothing for next week, and fortunately, we were able to go and win in Homestead last year, but nothing is guaranteed. Just because I ran second this week, doesn’t mean I’m going to finish anywhere next week.
“I think the points look pretty good, which is a positive, but you are never safe in this deal. We needed to win today, and unfortunately, we didn’t. We will go on to the next one.”
Bell is second on the playoff grid, 42 markers above the cutline.