Bell Advances to Next Round with Walkoff Roval Win

In an almost unbelievable twist of fate, Christopher Bell discovered his sole route to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Thanks to a timely pit stop for fresh tires under caution on Lap 105, Bell managed to overtake Kevin Harvick on the outside through Turns 1 and 2 after a restart on Lap 111. He then pulled ahead to clinch victory in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

Bell’s victory led to his advancement to the Round of 8, simultaneously eliminating current series champion Kyle Larson. Larson had to bring his No. 5 Chevrolet to the pit stop on Lap 98 due to a collision with the wall that broke the right-rear toe link of his car.

Larson completed five laps in 35th place and was eliminated from the Playoffs by a two-point deficit. After swerving in the backstretch chicane on Lap 107, Chase Briscoe managed to secure ninth place with fresh tires and clinched the last eighth spot in the Round of 8 by a two-point lead over Larson.

On Sunday, Bell may not have had the quickest car, but he and crew chief Adam Stevens seized the opportunity presented by two late cautions to secure the victory.

“Bell stated, “It’s necessary to be present at the end of these races.” He started the race 33 points below the cut line for the Round of 8. “I’ve observed that the fastest car doesn’t always emerge as the winner in these races. It’s no secret that we have struggled with road courses this year.”

“We happened to be there at the perfect moment. Clearly, we weren’t in a winning position before we changed tires. We took a risk, a gamble, and it turned out to be a successful decision for us.”

A regretful Larson held himself responsible for his dismissal.

“Larson admitted, “Throughout the year, I made an excessive number of mistakes, including one today. This ultimately cost us the chance to pursue another championship.”

I’m tremendously angry with myself. I’ve failed my team on several occasions this year, and today, I let them down significantly.

Austin Cindric and Daniel Suarez were also eliminated. After spinning out into the backstretch chicane following the final restart on Lap 111, Cindric ended up in 21st place, missing the Round of 8 by 13 points. On the other hand, Suarez encountered a power steering failure during the third stage in his No. 99 Chevrolet, which led him to finish in 36th place. This left him trailing Briscoe by nine points for the last transfer spot.

On Lap 111, Briscoe restarted beyond the top 20 and capitalized on Cindric’s spin. He used his own aggression and got a block from his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Cole Custer. Custer obstructed cars that Briscoe had to overtake on the last lap.

“Briscoe remarked, “Indeed, what an unpredictable day. It was quite a struggle towards the end. One moment we were comfortably in, and then a debris caution came out on Lap 104. Despite this, I was confident we had a solid chance of making it in. Then we got wrecked on the backstretch. The end of these races, particularly the road course races, can be so volatile with rapid changes.”

“I wasn’t sure if we even had a chance during the final restart. Honestly, I thought we were likely out of the game. But when I saw car number 2 (Cindric) crash, I thought we might have a glimmer of hope. Our tires were much fresher than anyone else’s. Johnny Klausmeier, our crew chief, inflated them to qualifying pressures, which allowed me to take charge and seize the opportunity.”

The race, which had been orderly for 103 laps, turned into chaos after NASCAR issued the third caution due to debris in Turn 6. This ended a 50-lap stretch of uninterrupted racing under the green flag.

Bell brought his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the pit road for tires, and then restarted 12th on Lap 107. He was able to make it back to the finish line, in part due to a pile-up in Turn 1, and began chasing Tyler Reddick for the second position.

Bell overtook Reddick on Lap 108 and was pursuing Harvick when a second debris caution due to a ruckus in Turn 2 pushed the race into overtime. During the final restart, Harvick, with older tires, was at a disadvantage, but successfully resisted Kyle Busch to maintain second place.

Bell and Briscoe will be accompanied by Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Ross Chastain in the Round of 8. Elliott led with the most laps in the race at 30 and looked set for his third win at the ROVAL until a caution at Lap 104.

Following the restart on Lap 107, Elliott, who had secured his place in the Round of 8 after winning last Sunday at Talladega, spun off into the grass beyond Turn 6 due to contact from Reddick. He finished the race in 20th place.

The pole winner, Logano, led the first stage from start to finish, but ended up in heavy traffic after a pit stop on Lap 27 and ultimately finished 18th.

After leading 24 laps, AJ Allmendinger finished fourth, trailed by Justin Haley, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Reddick, Briscoe, and Austin Dillon.

Entering the Round of 8 with reset points, Elliott is in the lead in the NASCAR Cup standings, with a 20-point advantage over Logano who is in second place.

NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Sunday, October 9, 2022

1. (8) Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 112.
2. (22) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 112.
3. (20) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 112.
4. (7) AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 112.
5. (13) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 112.
6. (21) Chris Buescher, Ford, 112.
7. (14) Bubba Wallace (P), Toyota, 112.
8. (4) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 112.
9. (17) Chase Briscoe (P), Ford, 112.
10. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 112.
11. (26) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 112.
12. (30) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 112.
13. (24) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 112.
14. (31) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 112.
15. (37) Aric Almirola, Ford, 112.
16. (2) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 112.
17. (19) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 112.
18. (1) Joey Logano (P), Ford, 112.
19. (25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, 112.
20. (9) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 112.
21. (5) Austin Cindric # (P), Ford, 112.
22. (16) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 112.
23. (29) Noah Gragson(i) (P), Chevrolet, 112.
24. (12) Cole Custer, Ford, 112.
25. (28) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 112.
26. (6) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 112.
27. (11) Michael McDowell, Ford, 112.
28. (23) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 111.
29. (34) Mike Rockenfeller, Chevrolet, 111.
30. (32) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 111.
31. (38) Josh Williams(i), Ford, 110.
32. (35) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 110.
33. (36) Loris Hezemans(i), Ford, 110.
34. (39) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 109.
35. (18) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 107.
36. (3) Daniel Suarez (P), Chevrolet, 107.
37. (10) Ross Chastain (P), Chevrolet, 103.
38. (27) Joey Hand, Ford, Accident, 79.
39. (33) Daniil Kvyat(i), Toyota, Engine, 17.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 86.661 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 54 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.790 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 10 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 8 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Logano (P) 1-27;T. Reddick 28-30;A. Allmendinger(i) 31-48;R. Chastain (P) 49-51;A. Allmendinger(i) 52-54;T. Reddick 55-72;A. Allmendinger(i) 73-75;E. Jones 76;C. Elliott (P) 77-106;K. Harvick 107-110;C. Bell (P) 111-112.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Chase Elliott (P) 1 time for 30 laps; Joey Logano (P) 1 time for 27 laps; AJ Allmendinger(i) 3 times for 24 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 21 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 4 laps; Ross Chastain (P) 1 time for 3 laps; Christopher Bell (P) 1 time for 2 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,24,99,12,2,5,14,11,8,16
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,21,5,16,8,99,22,14,12,9