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Christopher Bell said he was fooled by his early speed in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, and all but conceded the Cup Series championship to Kyle Larson.
Bell finished 10th and moved into second in the standings, 67 points behind Larson with one race left.
Bell: ‘I think we know’
Asked by NBC’s Kim Coon about the November 8 finale at Homestead, Bell said, “It’s just another race. Another opportunity to fight for a win, but… I think we know.”
‘He’s at 80%’
Bell pitted during the opening run on a call from crew chief Adam Stevens, gained track position and finished fourth in Stage 1 after starting 14th. He thought he had a car that could win, until Stevens told him how William Byron was running.
“I got tricked into thinking I was better than I was,” Bell said. He said Stevens told him on the radio that Byron was running at part throttle. “I’m at 100%, he’s at 80%,” Bell said, adding that he was close on the short run but fell off on the long run.
Byron led 362 of the 500 laps and won the race.
Speeding and a spin
Bell’s day got worse after Carson Hocevar spun to bring out a caution on Lap 199. Bell was caught speeding on pit road.
On Lap 216, Joey Logano tried to go to the inside of Bell entering Turn 1, and the cars ran out of room. Bell got into Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, and both spun.
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The caution let Larson, who was a lap down after staying out in Stage 1, get back on the lead lap with the free pass. Larson finished ninth, one spot ahead of Bell.
What Bell needs
Bell scored eight stage points on Sunday and passed Hamlin, who finished sixth and is 70 back. A driver can score at most 76 points in a race, so Bell needs to win at Homestead, score big in the stages and have Larson finish near the back.
Bell said before Martinsville that the team had “nothing to lose,” as Pit This Time reported.
The Cup Series finale is Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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