KANSAS CITY, Kans. — Christopher Bell admits he’ll have to “watch my back” when racing near Daniel Suarez because
Suarez remains irritated about contact with Bell last weekend.
Suarez and Bell were racing for fourth place late in stage 2 last weekend at Darlington Raceway when they made hit. The contact forced Suarez’s car into the wall. Suarez finished the stage eighth. Bell finished the stage sixth.
“Whenever I need, I’m going to get him back,” Suarez said after the race. “I’m not saying it’s going to be Kansas or Bristol. He definitely owes me one and I’m going to save that for later.”
Bell, speaking to reporters Saturday morning at Kansas Speedway, called the contact “a non-intentional … mistake from me to slide up and kind of crowd him into the wall. Honestly, I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and had no idea that he was upset until he spoke out.
“So yeah, once I learned that he was upset, I did reach out. I texted him and apologized for getting into him. He let me know that he’s going to race me the same way that I race him going forward. So I’ll just have to make sure I watch my back whenever he’s around me.”
Suarez said Saturday morning at Kansas that his feelings remained the same from last week in regards to Bell and the contact.
“I felt like we were very, very lucky that were able to finish the stage and continue with minor damage,” Suarez said. “The car wasn’t the same. The toe in the right rear tire was messed up after that. But you make the decision as a race car driver and you have to live with those and that’s the way he races.
“Something that is very, very general in the Cup garage is that you’re going to race people and you have to expect those people to race you the same way back and that’s 100% clean, a little bit of respect.
“I’m not thinking about it too much, but definitely I won’t forget what happened last week because it could have been way way worse.”
Bell starts Sunday’s Cup race fourth. Suarez will start 15th.
Suarez holds the final transfer spot to the second round. He leads Austin Cindric by two points. Bell is fourth in the standings. He’s 10 points behind series leader Joey Logano.
Countdown to Green airs at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. The post-race show will air on USA Network.
CONTACT!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 5, 2022
Joey Logano passes multiple cars as Christopher Bell, William Byron and Daniel Suarez battle for position! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/iZLkT9V93l
#NASCAR … Daniel Suarez says he will get Christopher Bell back for their contact during the Southern 500. pic.twitter.com/aXoPbVxkyd
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) September 5, 2022
