The Martinsville race is known to produce high-octane drama thanks to it being the final shot at the Championship 4. While Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick already stay cozy at Phoenix, the battle for the two vacant spots was nothing short of a thriller. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliot were all in the elimination zone and desperate for a win, battling in the final stages. However, the defending champion taking the checkered flag proved why he is the most successful driver on the track. Blaney’s average finish on the track is 8.3! However, this wasn’t the only intense battle in the race.

After Blaney was consistently leading the race, catching him was close to impossible for Christopher Bell and William Byron. Both drivers had splendid playoffs not once coming under the cutline, but at Martinsville, only one could progress. And till the very last second, it wasn’t clear who would take the final spot. Even until long after the race, it was still unclear if it would be JGR or HMS competing for another championship. However, NASCAR ruled in the #24’s favor, but the #20 faction has challenged the decision!

Christopher Bell’s crew chief details why NASCAR was wrong

What happened was that in the final lap, Christopher Bell was in the 19th position, trailing by one point behind William Byron in 6th. And while the #24 team was ready to pop the champagne, Bell, on the final stretch, passed 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, taking 18th position and tying in points with Byron. A tie for the #20 was just as good. According to the NASCAR rule, in case of a tie-breaker, the team with the best finish in any of the round 3 races will progress. And Bell had a P2 finish from Las Vegas to thank. The same one that had left him bitter earlier for missing out.

However, while crossing the #23 car, Christopher Bell lost control and rammed into the wall, running against the wall until reaching the checkered flag. This had NASCAR compare it to Ross Chastain’s ‘Hail Melon’ move from the 2022 Cup season race at Martinsville. Where in a desperate attempt to bag a championship spot, Chastain ran against the wall, scrapping it, gaining speed like in a video game. This, however, proved to be successful and spectacular! Although Chastain got a clean sheet, NASCAR banned the move in 2023, as they believed it could be dangerous to other drivers. This is the reason why Bell was eliminated and Byron moved to the finale.

NASCAR Vice President Elton Sawyer, in his statement, said, “We look at all the video. If you go back to two years ago when we had the situation with Ross [Chastain] here, we went to Phoenix, there was a lot of dialogue with the drivers. That’s not a move that we want to have to make on the last lap.” However, #20’s crew chief Adam Stevens begged to differ as he said there was no similarity in the two moves, and according to him, even the SMT data proves that. SMT gives real-time access to teams and competitors on data regarding braking and throttle time, among others.

As reported by NASCAR.com, Stevens also detailed the same to NASCAR after a visit to their hauler, explaining what happened on the track. 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.” 

Sadly, for the #20 team, this being a race violation, it is not even appealable, ending Bell’s chances to make it 3 for 3. The Oklahoma native is the only active driver to have always made the championship 4 since the next-gen car’s debut in 2022.

Bell shares his disappointment with the Martinsville race

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Bell did try to come off the wall after he crashed. However, with only a short distance left, he probably couldn’t before the finish line arrived. The #20 post-the race opened up on what unfolded on the track. Post the NASCAR decision, he was at a loss for words. He said, “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 lose getting in the corner and slid right into the fence. I don’t know what else to say.”

Adding to his disappointment, some radio conversations from Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon’s cars have revealed possible race manipulation. The two drivers allegedly coordinated to block the cars behind them so that Byron wouldn’t lose a position as that could have meant game over for Chevy’s 2024 championship chances.

Bell hit out at the Chevy group for stooping low. “I mean that was disappointing. That was disappointing to see them blocking like that and manipulating the race. I don’t know,” the #20 told NBC’s Dustin Long. Even Stevens echoed the same emotions when he said, “That looked pretty obvious to me. I’m sure it did to a lot of people. They clogged the track up and hunkered down, and easily could have both passed him and then a couple more cars as well. So I mean, I think that’s a bad look, but bad looks aren’t going to put me in the Championship 4 apparently.” 

Amid this, even the Bell faction and Bubba Wallace are getting accused of manipulation. When the #20 car passed Wallace, he got slow, as though deliberately letting Bell pass. However, the 23XI Racing driver justified it, saying he faced a tire-related problem when Bell passed him.

Well, only time will tell if NASCAR will do something about the race manipulations or not. What do you think about Bell getting eliminated? Was it fair? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.