Dover, Del. – Christopher Bell took two wild rides at Dover Motor Speedway during the Autotrader EchoPark 400 on Sunday (July 20th). Bell spun around once and rallied back into contention for the win before doing so again, battling teammate Denny Hamlin for the win on a restart after a brief red flag for rain.
Due to rain on Saturday, practice and qualifying were rained out for the NASCAR Cup Series, and NASCAR used their metric system to determine the starting order. That placed the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry on the front row alongside polesitter Chase Elliott.
The race started well for the JGR driver, finishing runner-up to Elliott in stage one and winning the second stage.
“I haven’t scored stage points in a long time, let alone won a stage,” he said post-race.
On lap 260, the first lap of the third stage, he spun around battling Elliott for the lead on the outside. That first spin sent him to the back after his great performance in the first two stages. The setback did not deter the No. 20 team though, as they rallied back to put themselves in position for the win.
The car was on edge battling his teammate for the win when the second spin occurred, and Bell was asked about how on edge he was after the race to spin a second time.
“Both spins were very different; I just bottomed out getting into turn 3,” Bell explained. “I don’t think there was anything [damage], we were able to get back up there and compete, I’ve said a million times we’re just proud of the effort and the speed the team brought- it’s been really good
Hopefully, it shows that these things go in a hurry, and they’re just not out there on lockdown. It was a little too on edge to hold Denny [Hamlin] on that restart; it seemed like the leader would get out there and have a big lead by the time they got out of turn 1.”
While he was living life on the edge inside the car, Bell was satisfied with the team’s performance overall, though he finished in 18th.
“I did everything right up until the point that I spun and we were in position, so that’s all you can ask for; I’m not happy with the first one [spin], but I’m happy with the speed and performance of our team,” he concluded.
Bell has struggled through a rough mid-season compared to his early success, winning three straight races in the opening four of the season at EchoPark Motor Speedway, Circuit of the Americas, and Phoenix Raceway. While not counting for points, Bell also took the checkered flag in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Bell leaves Dover Motor Speedway sixth in points, 67 points behind regular season points leader Chase Elliott.
