Christopher Bell Publicly Shuts Down the ‘Undeserving’ Charlotte Debate as NASCAR Tramples Tyler Reddick’s Loudon Hopes

Christopher Bell sweeps the weekend with two national series wins at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After clinching his fourth consecutive win at the racetrack with his start in the Xfinity Series on Saturday, Bell was once again able to conquer the magic mile. The JGR driver was a class apart after NASCAR surprisingly decided to complete the Cup Series race with wet weather tires. Finally, they put them to good use.

It was only after a long waiting period of 2.14 hours that NASCAR decided to complete the USA Today 301 event. Had the officials decided to call the race official like they did with the Coca-Cola 600, Tyler Reddick would’ve bagged the win. But Reddick’s hope for a win soon started to fade away as Christopher Bell just kicked in his fifth gear, and from there on, he never looked back.

Christopher Bell silences his critics with the win at Loudon

At the time, during the Coca-Cola 600 race, a lot of people were on the Kyle Larson hype train. He was considered untouchable due to his strong and dominant runs in the season so far. However, with rain playing a spoilsport that day, the race was called official, and Bell was crowned the winner. Many questioned the decision and even called the JGR driver unworthy. Well, after today’s result, there can be no arguments or debates about his credentials and talent.

Sharing his thoughts on the eventful day of racing and clinching his third win of the season, Bell said in the post-race interview, “I personally love adverse conditions because you always are trying to think outside the box, and when we back out, we were skidding around, and we felt like that the normal outer groove was really, really slipper. So I tried to just run down or run up, and Adam put the tune in this thing, and it was running really good. So this is really cool and hey guys, this one didn’t get shortened.”

It really was an experiment, as none of the teams or drivers were prepared to race in the damp. Although the Richmond and All-Star races did pave the way for an event like this, they were planned ahead, and teams sort of knew what to expect. It all came down to the ability of the driver to adapt to the racing conditions, and this is where Bell outshined the rest of the field. Even a nervous overtime finish and a late charge by Josh Berry didn’t faze him, as he cruised to his third win of the season.

While Bell’s consecutive victory this weekend might have boosted his confidence after a series of lackluster finishes, his win at Charlotte didn’t sit well with the crowd. Fans even booed him mercilessly when officials declared the race over and named #20 the winner.

So far, the chatter about championship contenders has been around the likes of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. But now that C. Bell is putting in consistent top-place results and wins, shutting down the ‘undeserved’ debates, and he certainly is one to keep an eye out for. Meanwhile, finishing P3, was a huge result for rookie SHR driver Berry, who was caught up in two minds trying to choose lanes on the final restart.

What an audition by Josh Berry for teams that are looking for drivers next season!

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With the final restart of the play, it all came down to the choice of lanes. Going by the radio chatter of the #4 SHR team, the driver was pretty much ready to throw the kitchen sink to get his first win in the Cup Series. In an attempt to put the leader under pressure, Berry decided to take the upper grove and start behind Bell. Meanwhile, his teammate Chase Briscoe got a front-row start. But when the race got back to green, none of the SHR drivers were able to mount any trouble or challenge against Christopher Bell; that’s how good his racecraft was.

Reflecting back on the vital moment for him in the race, Berry in a post-race interview explained, “Honestly, I think I probably just — I really pushed Christopher out there really hard, and I think that kind of checked my momentum. Then I just got a little loose off of two and got Chase back to my left rear. He kind of drug me back, and we got stuck racing and had to drag race there to the line.”

The good news is that the SHR driver is back in the mix of competing for the win and, at the same time, collecting crucial points. With the variety of races lined up ahead, who knows? A winning result could open the playoff doors for Berry and his team.