LAS VEGAS — Maybe someday Christopher Bell will leave Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a smile, but even then it likely won’t overcome the disappointment this track has served him. Sunday was another such day.
With chaos consuming many of the title contenders, Bell dominated and seemed headed for a win that would send him to the championship race for a third consecutive year.
Instead, it was Joey Logano — eliminated from title contention last weekend until Alex Bowman’s disqualification revived Logano’s playoff hopes— who won Sunday to nab a spot in next month’s championship race. Bell finished second wondering what happened.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Bell said on pit road after leading 155 of 267 laps. “Whenever we went green, (crew chief Adam Stevens) told me that we’re four or five short (of the finish) and nobody topped off, so I didn’t think that there was a chance anyone could make it at that point. … Then he keyed up and said a couple of them are trying to stretch it. I’m like, ‘Well, surely, they’re going to run out.’
“They did not run out.”
Ty Gibbs’ spin brought out the caution on Lap 194 of the 267-lap race and set the final events into motion. The field pitted the next lap. That was outside what was believed to be the fuel window to make it to the finish.
Several drivers, including Bell, pitted between laps 226-231. Logano was among a group that did not.
While some viewed crew chief Paul Wolfe’s move not to pit Logano a gamble, Wolfe did not see it that way.
“I didn’t really know that it was going to be the winning call, but I thought it was going to be a call that was going to maximize points for us, and that’s ultimately why I did it,” Wolfe said.
It did appear as if Bell would chase down Logano and leader Daniel Suarez in the closing laps.
“They got on me with probably 15 laps to go and said that we can’t afford to have any loss in time, and I didn’t really feel like I gave up any chunks of time,” Bell said. “I felt like all the lapped traffic was pretty respectful and I was able to get through there pretty good. You can’t ask for much more.”
Except, as it turned out, more time.
But there was no overtime — in a season that has seen a record 13 races go beyond the scheduled distance — and no extra chance for Bell. His runner-up result marked the fifth time in 18 career starts at Las Vegas across Cup, Xfinity and Trucks that Bell has finished second in a race. He’s never won a NASCAR race at this track.
Last year’s playoff race was painful for Bell, who finished second to Kyle Larson by .082 seconds. Bell left dejected only to win the following week at Homestead.
Sunday, Bell felt even more pain.
“I definitely feel like I executed my race,” he said. “I feel like our team executed our race. It just wasn’t meant to be. That’s a dagger. That’s more of a dagger than last year.”
