Christopher Bell has put himself back in the playoffs after winning Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
Bell scored his seventh career Cup win after winning Stage 2 and leading 50 laps at the 1-mile Arizona track. All seven of his Cup wins are on different tracks.
Chris Buescher finished second. Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Michael McDowell, Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top 10.
MORE: Phoenix Cup results
“You don’t get cars like that very often,” Bell told Fox Sports’ Regan Smith after the race. “Just super, super proud. Proud to be on this 20 car, this Rheem Camry was amazing today. I feel like we have capability of running races like this a lot. Hopefully, this is the first of many this year.”
Bell started the final stage farther back in the field after a slow pit stop due to an issue with the lug nut on the right rear tire. He worked his way through the field and passed Truex for the lead on Lap 271.
Bell led the final 41 laps and scored Toyota’s first win at Phoenix of the Next Gen era.
This performance was significant considering that Toyota drivers had combined to lead a mere 15 laps in the first four Next Gen races at Phoenix. Bell, Denny Hamlin, Truex, Gibbs and Reddick combined to lead 298 of the 312 possible laps.
Who had a good race: Michael McDowell had one top-10 finish in his previous 26 starts at Phoenix. He scored points in Stage 1 and spent the final stage inside the top 10 before finishing eighth. … Chris Buescher had two top-10 finishes at Phoenix in his career. He finished second. … Noah Gragson continued his strong start to the season with points in Stage 2 and a 12th-place finish. … Gibbs finished third, his second consecutive top-five finish and third consecutive top 10.
Who had a bad race: Austin Dillon and Austin Cindric both sustained heavy damage when Derek Kraus spun on Lap 6. Cindric could not continue. Dillon has been involved in crashes in the first 10 laps of three races this season. … Kyle Busch spun on Lap 197 after struggling with handling. He finished 22nd … Joey Logano spent the first two stages outside of the top 20. He crashed early in the final stage after John Hunter Nemechek hit him from behind. Logano finished 34th, his third finish of 28th or worse in the first four races. … All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished outside the top 10 after getting stuck in the middle of the pack in the final stage due to pit strategy.
The Cup season continues Sunday, March 17, at Bristol Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on Fox).
