Xfinity Breakdown: Christopher Bell Wins Loudon; Should Hailie Deegan Return to ARCA?

For Whom the (Christopher) Bell Tolls: Loudon edition.

It seems like another chapter was written in Bell’s and Joe Gibbs Racing’s book at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as the No. 20 driver took home his fourth win at the Magic Mile.

It wasn’t a dominating performance by the Oklahoma native, but Bell certainly had one of the best cars all day. After starting the race 23rd due to a washout in qualifying Friday, Bell’s skill at Loudon shined through. He stayed in the top five for much of the race, fighting hard for one of the top spots on every restart.

In the end, Bell pushed past Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed in overtime and took home the checkered flag.

Creed was second, Custer took third, Justin Allgaier was fourth and Carson Kvapil brought home a fifth-place finish.

Winners

Just how good is JGR at New Hampshire? Well, collectively, it has 13 victories there, as well as 35 top fives and 43 top 10s, dating back all the way to 1998. There are very few events where a Gibbs driver hasn’t run well there.

It’s not just Loudon for that No. 20 car this year, though. JGR’s drivers have four wins in 2024: John Hunter Nemechek at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Aric Almirola at Martinsville Speedway, Ryan Truex at Dover Motor Speedway and then Bell at New Hampshire. Its success this year has brought it to fifth place in the owner’s points standings behind the teams of Custer, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill.

One of JGR’s racers, Creed, is the bridesmaid of the bunch, as he earned his 10th runner-up at the Magic Mile. Three of those came this year, his first season with Gibbs. While it’s obviously frustrating for Creed, it shows that he’s still attempting to win. He’s just getting beat by others who are just a tad better than he is, or that he makes the right move at the wrong time.

A win is surely in the cards for Creed, though. I mean, Daniel Hemric had a lot of seconds before he finally found victory lane. Besides, I’d much rather have a runner-up than a 30th for not really trying or making a lot of mistakes.

Kvapil continues to impress during his time with JR Motorsports. Not only did he gain 33 positions on the track, he also led 24 laps. In four starts this year, he has three top fives, earning a best result of second at Dover. Could he be like Josh Berry and snag his first win soon? We’ll have to wait and see.

Another driver who deserves recognition is Corey Heim, who finished 10th in his eighth start of the year. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

See, he had been running in the top 10 and top five for a big portion of the race, but around lap 150 he encountered trouble on pit road. Heim’s No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing pit crew had a problem when the front changer’s air gun hose got stuck under the car on the right side. It also got stuck on the left side, and the rear changer had to change the front tire, resulting in a very slow stop.

Sometimes what shows a driver’s talent is how they perform in the face of adversity. I mean, there were only about 50 laps left in the race. Heim avoided all of the chaos and mayhem over the final segment and got all the way up to 10th. That’s talent right there.

Speaking of talent, how about Justin Bonsignore, who made his Xfinity debut? He made his way up from 25th to the top 15 within the first 40 laps. The top 15! It’s pretty insane to think about.

Not only that, but he eventually was contending in the top five and even for the lead at some points. The NASCAR Whelen Modified driver (and winner at Loudon) certainly showed everyone that he could learn fast at a track he’s familiar with in a far different series.

Although he was caught up in an accident and dropped to 22nd by race’s end, Bonsignore should be commended for his performance.

Losers

Usually I put the opposite end of the spectrum here, but I’m putting Custer as a loser. He finished third after leading 114 laps, over half of the race. So why is he here?

Well, partly because he lost the lead in overtime to Creed and then Bell. But also, he missed out on his first win of the season due to hard racing.

One thing I thought was a bit questionable was when he pitted with about 10 laps left in stage one. Custer gave up a chance to get a stage win, and not only that, but he also didn’t grab any stage points in the first segment. He did get some in stage two, though, which helped him to keep his lead in the points standings.

A win would be nice for the 2023 champ, but as long as Custer maintains the points lead, he’ll advance to the playoffs.

Some other drivers who underperformed were Chandler Smith, who finished 15th, and Hill in 24th. Chandler Smith was spun with about 25 laps to go, so a 15th wasn’t completely terrible. It wasn’t where he would’ve like to finish, though.

Hill had a far worse fate when he was caught up in a large accident when Bonsignore got spun. He incurred some damage and just wasn’t able to get back into the top 10. The finish was his third result in the 20s in the past five events. Will Hill turn things around at Nashville Superspeedway? He sure hopes so.

Playoff Pit

Custer remains atop the points, with Chandler Smith in second in the current playoff standings (per Jayski). Allgaier jumped ahead of Hill in points, with Hill now fourth after leading for much of the first part of the season.

Creed and Riley Herbst are fifth and sixth in points, respectively, but are eighth and ninth in the playoffs below those with wins. AJ Allmendinger is 10th in the playoff standings, 59 points above the cut line. Parker Kligerman is 52 points to the good, while Sammy Smith currently holds the last playoff spot, 31 points above the cut.

Those outside the cut line include Ryan Sieg (-31) and Anthony Alfredo (-72). Just 10 races remain for them to get into the playoffs, either with a win or via points (though the latter may be a harder task).

Paint Scheme of the Week

Besides lobsters, Loudon has some very nice paint schemes aboard the Xfinity cars. One of them was the No. 5 driven by Alfredo, a lovely dark blue base with white logos, numbers and splitters.

Race day in New Hampshire 🏁 @Steele_GroupCRE pic.twitter.com/VahUYEznOW

— Anthony Alfredo (@anthonyalfredo) June 22, 2024

With sponsorship from the Steele Group on the hood and Anchor Advisors and Reshoring Initiative on the quarter panel, this scheme knocked it out of the park. The buildings, bridge and stars in the background also worked well with the overall design.

Fast Pasta took home a top 20, but it could’ve been so much more. He was staying out during a long green-flag run until about lap 166 before he finally came down pit road. Two laps later, the caution waved for a spin by Armani Williams, who was making his debut.

Alfredo lost all that track position that he had gained before pitting and just couldn’t make it back through the field to get a top 15.

Fuel for Thought

OK, this may not be a popular opinion, but I don’t think Hailie Deegan is ready for Xfinity racing.

As a woman, I do like to see other women achieve their dreams and compete in NASCAR. It’s certainly needed in a male-dominated sport.

I also feel that if someone appears to be underperforming and not improving, then perhaps they need some more practice. That goes for anyone in racing, not just women.

Deegan appears to be one of those who should return to racing in series like the ARCA Menards Series to rebuild her confidence.

Why? Well, she’s 27th in points, below Brennan Poole and Leland Honeyman (among those who’ve competed in all 16 races). Deegan’s also behind Kyle Sieg (who’s run 14 events) and Aric Almirola (who has a win and three top fives in five races).

I know it’s her first full year in Xfinity, and points aren’t everything. How about we look at the stats.

So far this year, Deegan has four finishes of 20th or better. Her best result was a 12th at Talladega Superspeedway, while earlier at Las Vegas Motor Speedway she placed 15th.

She also has eight results in the 30s. Yes, a lot of that was due to other cars running into her, but it’s still part of racing. Look at Chandler Smith and Kligerman, who spun after contact from other cars. They were able to slide out of harm’s way and away from the wall. I know that’s not always feasible when there are other cars outside of you, but it’s definitely something to learn.

Last season for AM Racing, Brett Moffitt earned one top five and nine top 10s. Of course, he’s a Craftsman Truck Series champion and has years of experience racing. But if he earned that for a new team in Xfinity in 2023, why is Deegan not running at least in the top 20?

Also, in Trucks she only earned five top 10s in three full seasons. Now, I feel a Truck runs very different than an Xfinity car, but my stance remains the same. A run in ARCA may be just what Deegan needs to build her confidence and give her another chance to prove that she can learn and perform.

Where to Next?

Next week the Xfinity teams head to Nashville Superspeedway for the Tennessee Lottery 250. Allmendinger won last year’s event on the 1.33-mile track.

Coverage for this year’s race starts on June 29 at 5 p.m. ET and airs on USA Network, Performance Racing Network radio and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.