MADISON, Ill. — As the laps ticked down at World Wide Technology Raceway, Christopher Bell had a chance at back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series victories.
This one would’ve been a little bit more traditional.
Last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bell was in front when the race got called after 249 laps due to weather. But at Gateway, he had the dominant car – leading five times for 80 laps. Bell won the first two stages after starting seventh and could’ve swept the afternoon with a perfect 60-point day.
While battling Ryan Blaney for the lead with 19 laps to go, Bell ran into a problem. His car began to slow, and he radioed to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team that his engine was failing.
Blaney seamlessly drove past Bell while he quickly dropped out of the fight for the win and nursed his Toyota Camry home. The 29-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma somehow had enough power in his car to complete the final 19 circuits.
“I have no idea what happened with our DEWALT Camry – some sort of motor issue, and I’m surprised that it made it to the end,” Bell said after the race. “Glad we were able to salvage something out of it – but you don’t get race cars like that very often – whenever you do, you need to take advantage of them, so that is disappointing.”
Because the entirety of stage three went green, Bell had built up a large enough cushion to survive the final laps with his ailing race car. But with a few timely pushes from JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. (three laps down) over the closing laps, Bell managed to come across seventh.
“That was awesome. He probably saved us a top-10 today,” Bell said. “Martin is a stand-up guy.”
Bell played a strategy similar to most of the other contenders, pitting after his lap 45 stage victory and again under green flag conditions on lap 95. He stayed out during a caution period 20 laps later and that got him to the end of Stage Two, where he earned 10 more points.
After pitting during the break, Bell needed one more stop to make it to the end. He came down on lap 193 for tires and fuel before the turmoil with his engine began.
While Blaney assumed the lead after Bell fell off the pace, he ultimately finished 24th after running out of fuel coming to one lap to go. Austin Cindric won for the second time in his Cup career.
Though Bell fell short of consecutive victories, he strung together back-to-back top 10s for the first time since Circuit of the Americas (Texas) and Richmond (Va.) Raceway earlier in the spring. He sits eighth in driver’s points.