One driver who has impressed the most in the 2024 Cup Series playoffs has to be Christopher Bell. The Joe Gibbs Racing Driver had the most consistent run in all the rounds, always staying to the good of the cutline. In fact, he never even came close to it! But speaking about coming close, what a tight finish it was to book that final spot at Phoenix as Bell and William Byron went head to head.

Bell had to clear Bubba Wallace in the 18th position to get enough points to progress, and the JGR driver did that. However, he got into the wall in turn 3. Losing control of the car, he rode the wall to the finish like Ross Chastain’s now-banned ‘Hail Melon’ move from the 2022 Martinsville. After analyzing the incident from all possible angles, NASCAR made a decision and Bell doesn’t agree with it.

Christopher Bell misses out on continuing championship streak

Bell’s consistency isn’t limited to the current season, rather he’s shown impeccable form since the debut of the next-gen car. The #20 is the only driver to have made it to all the championship fours since 2022. However, after what looked like a Hail Melon 2.0 at Martinsville, NASCAR has decided to rule against Bell, leading to him not progressing. Here, take a look at the incident:

Well, intentional or not, unfortunately, it looked like Bell tried to ride the wall, only coming off it as he crossed the finish line. NASCAR wrote on  X, “PENALTY: NASCAR deems the No. 20 car incurred a safety violation at @MartinsvilleSwy. He is placed in 22nd position, the last car one lap down”. Thanks to the penalty, Bell was moved down from 18th position to 22nd. So now William Byron would join Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney after the defending champion took the checkered flag at NASCAR’s shortest short track.

Naturally, Christopher Bell was disappointed after NASCAR announced its decision as he begged to differ, calling his incident different from Chastain’s. Disappointed by NASCAR’s call, Bell was at a loss for words, “I don’t know what to say. I…I don’t know what to say. I mean I understand the rule is made to prevent people from riding the wall. But my move was completely different from Ross’s. I got loose getting in the corner and slid right into the fence. I don’t know what else to say.”

Thanks to this, William Byron will make it to Phoenix, keeping Hendrick Motorsports hopes alive for a championship. Post the decision, he said, “Yeah, I mean, I’m not happy for anything, but the rule is what it is for the crossover gate over there and riding the wall. It is what it is. I’ll go race and proud of my team for a really hard-fought day overall.” 

Christopher Bell’s crew chief also disagrees with NASCAR’s decision, detailing his reason he said, “If we’re just talking about the decision, this situation is nothing like the situation of the 1 car. We attempted to make the corner. We passed the 23. We got into the marbles. He got into the fence, after we passed the 23. We slowed down a full second from our previous lap. We weren’t up there matting the gas and grabbing gears. It’s just a different situation. It sucks that it’s a judgment call and you can’t appeal an in-race violation, but I just don’t see anything that’s even remotely close to what the 1 did that they outlawed.” However, NASCAR seems to be adamant in its decision.

NASCAR explains the Christopher Bell penalty

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NASCAR Vice President Elton Sawyer in a press conference said, “When you look at it today, he clearly got up against the fence in [Turns] 3 and 4 and rode the fence all the way off [Turn] 4 there. That’s strictly to protect our drivers and our fans. That one is pretty straightforward.” According to them, it’s a safety violation that violates Section 10.5.2.5.A of the Cup rulebook.

Which reads, “Safety is a top priority for NASCAR and NEM. Therefore, any violations deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others are treated with the highest degree of seriousness. Safety violations will be handled on a case-by-case basis.” After NASCAR announced their decision, JGR officials went to the racing organization’s hauler to have a chat, where they were told the decision bing a race violation cannot be appealed.

According to them, it doesn’t matter why the #20 did what he did, “I’m not going to speculate on what Christopher did or what he meant to do. That wouldn’t be fair to try to make that type of decision based off that. We looked at the data and the video, and we’ve been very clear based off our conversations with our industry and based off that move two years ago, that it won’t be tolerated.” 

Bell, after the two-and-fro between NASCAR and his team, accepted the verdict. “I made a mistake and I slid into the wall. Unfortunately, they ruled that as a safety violation. I don’t know what to say. I didn’t advance my position into the wall. I lost time on the racetrack, but it’s not meant to be. It’s fine,” Bell added.

What did you think about NASCAR’s decision? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.