”A right hook is a right hook.”
This single sentence has been used to justify the suspensions of Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott and now Austin Hill after he deliberately retaliated against Aric Almirola in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In fairness, it’s a pretty justifiable statement — right hooking someone is something that absolutely should be punishable by suspension. By right hooking someone into the outside wall at speed, the driver on the receiving end could end up seriously hurt.
Even if they escape injury, the damage a racecar receives from being sent head on into the outside wall is usually enough to end that driver’s day. Almirola escaped injury after his hit, but his No. 19 was destroyed. Elliott didn’t hurt Denny Hamlin, nor did Wallace hurt Kyle Larson, but those cars were killed and could not continue under any circumstance.
Either way, when a driver gets right hooked, a well-deserved penalty is sure to be handed out.
That’s why some were up in arms when the penalty report came out this week and Christopher Bell was nowhere to be found.
On the first overtime attempt in the Brickyard 400, Bell found himself right behind Zane Smith in a battle for 10th when he turned the No. 38 into the outside wall on the backstretch. Smith was then hit a few more times by Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Jesse Love before coming to rest in turn 3.
At speed, it looks like nothing more than a racing incident, but a look at Bell’s in-car camera makes it look like he intentionally right hooked the No. 38.
Well, a right hook is a right hook, right? Some expected Bell to be taking a week off under this guise, to serve a one-race suspension for Iowa Speedway like Hill.
But alas, the driver of the No. 20 was absent from the penalty report, and he will be racing at Iowa.
As he should be.
Look, a right hook is a right hook, sure. But the intent of Bell’s move on Smith is what was considered in this circumstance. Given that Bell hit Smith more on the bumper instead of the quarter panel, it seems like it was just a mistimed attempt by Bell in making a pass on Smith. He had a massive run on Smith and looked to swing out to try to pass him but mistimed the move incredibly.
And NASCAR agreed in that ruling, saying the move was “aggressive but mistimed” on Bell’s part, in FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass’ words. Therefore, Bell will not be serving a suspension for the incident.
Neither Bell nor Smith have commented on the incident publicly. However, consider this: In the case of Wallace, Elliott and Hill, they all didn’t hide the fact that they intentionally wrecked their perceived aggressor — whether they outwardly went on a tirade to NASCAR (like Hill) or dodged the question entirely (like Elliott), it was clear that they sought retaliation.
There was no inciting incident between Bell and Smith that would cause Bell to lose his cool and wreck Smith like that intentionally. Even if there was, Bell does not seem like a driver who would settle it on the racetrack and seek revenge.
The point is, neither Wallace nor Elliott nor Hill apologized for what they did. Did they plead their case at one point? Sure. But they didn’t apologize immediately after for taking out their competitor.
Bell did.
On the latest episode of Corey LaJoie’s podcast, Stacking Pennies, LaJoie’s co-host and Smith’s front-tire changer Ryan “Skip” Flores said that Bell came to the No. 38 pit box and hauler after the race and apologized to every single crew member on Smith’s team.
“He walked up, he’s like, ‘Hey, man, I’m sorry,’” Flores said. “I was like, ‘What happened?’ He was like, ‘I just misjudged it. I was trying to pass and I misjudged it.’ Then he climbed over the wall and went to all of our guys. … He went to our truck and apologized to all of our road crew guys.
”That takes balls after you wreck somebody’s stuff to go and stop and say, ‘Hey, man, I’m sorry.’ Because it’s one thing to call the driver on Tuesday — but to go face all the guys and do that? … I gained a lot of respect for Christopher Bell [for] coming over and apologizing and eating that. That’s hard to do. A lot of these guys, it’s easy to just keep on walking by and act like you’re better than everybody. So shoutout to him.”
Still think it was intentional now?
The question of why Bell was not suspended was valid after the race. It’s also fair to question why a driver who appeared to right hook another driver didn’t end up on the penalty report. Hell, Richard Childress is still questioning why Austin Cindric wasn’t suspended after wrecking Ty Dillon at COTA earlier this year, apparently forgetting that if that was suspension-worthy, his other grandson Austin should’ve had a two-week break after his stunt at Richmond Raceway last year.
But after a few days of reviewing video and witness testimony, it seems clear that Bell’s intent from the moment he exited turn 2 was to pass Smith, not wreck him. Like NASCAR said, it was aggressive, sure, but it was nothing more than a mistimed attempt to pass the No. 38 heading into turn 3.
Add on the fact that Bell knew he messed up and took the time to apologize to every member of Smith’s No. 38 team (though whether or not he has apologized to Smith himself yet is not quite clear), and it’s pretty apparent that Bell did nothing more than commit one big oopsie.
So stop coming for his head, and when the No. 20 shows up on your television screen this weekend at Iowa, know that he should be in that seat, not at home watching like Hill will be doing with the rest of us.
Follow @AnthonyDamcott on X.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter. He has also assisted with short track content and social media, among other duties he takes/has taken on for the site. In 2025, he became an official member of the National Motorsports Press Association. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight coordinator in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.