Bell managed to beat Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing in a six-hour race, including a rain delay of more than two hours. The race ended in wet conditions with newly developed wet-weather tires, marking the second time in NASCAR history that these tires were used in a points-paying race.
Bell led 149 of the 305 laps, the most in the race, becoming one of four drivers with three NASCAR Cup Series wins this season. The victory in New Hampshire was his ninth career series win. The day before, Bell had won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the same track.
"It was like two different events," Bell commented about the race. "With so many changing variables and adverse conditions, you always try to think outside the box."
During the restart with wet-weather tires, Bell noticed that the usual Loudon groove was very slippery, so he tried running in different parts of the track. His crew chief, Adam Lambert, made the necessary adjustments to keep the car competitive.
Under normal conditions, the race might have been canceled due to rain, but with the recent development of wet-weather tires, NASCAR decided to wait and resume the race in wet conditions. This allowed the competition to continue and provided an exciting finish.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR's Senior Vice President of Competition, explained that without the new tires, the race would have ended with 82 laps remaining. Instead, it was able to continue to the end, allowing for fair and exciting competition.
In the latter part of the race, several drivers who were not initially in contention managed to move up positions. Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry of Stewart-Haas Racing finished second and third, respectively, while other drivers like Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney struggled with the wet-weather tires and finished in lower positions.
Kyle Larson finished fourth, followed by Chris Buescher of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Tyler Reddick, who was leading the race before the red flag, finished sixth.
With this victory, Bell positions himself as one of the top contenders of the season, with several races remaining to determine the 16 drivers who will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The next race will be the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Pos | Driver | Brand |
---|---|---|
1 | Christopher Bell | Toyota |
2 | Chase Briscoe | Ford |
3 | Josh Berry | Ford |
4 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet |
5 | Chris Buescher | Ford |
6 | Tyler Reddick | Toyota |
7 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet |
8 | John Hunter Nemechek | Toyota |
9 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota |
10 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet |
11 | Ryan Preece | Ford |
12 | Todd Gilliland | Ford |
13 | Erik Jones | Toyota |
14 | Harrison Burton | Ford |
15 | Michael McDowell | Ford |
16 | Ty Gibbs | Toyota |
17 | Carson Hocevar | Chevrolet |
18 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet |
19 | Austin Cindric | Ford |
20 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet |
21 | Daniel Suarez | Chevrolet |
22 | Kaz Grala | Ford |
23 | Corey LaJoie | Chevrolet |
24 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota |
25 | Ryan Blaney | Ford |
26 | William Byron | Chevrolet |
27 | Noah Gragson | Ford |
28 | Brad Keselowski | Ford |
29 | Justin Haley | Ford |
30 | Zane Smith | Chevrolet |
31 | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet |
32 | Joey Logano | Ford |
33 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet |
34 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota |
35 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet |
36 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet |
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