Denny Hamlin Lets-Slip Fears of Christopher Bell Triggering NASCAR’s Wrath After Las Vegas Pit-Road Chaos

Using two different pit crews in a single stop? Check. It seems like Christopher Bell isn’t afraid to bend the rules in his favor, as he was aiming to become only the fourth driver in the modern era to win four Cup Series races in a row. Despite his red-hot start to his 2025 Cup Series campaign, the Oklahoman experienced problems even before the Pennzoil 400 began, after being forced to the rear when his No. 20 team swapped the throttle body.

However, the bold pit strategy was not enough on the day and Bell’s winning streak ended in Las Vegas. During a yellow-flag pit stop run, Bell’s left tire was loose as he headed out of the pit box, and he wasn’t even the first JGR car with a loose tire that day! Chase Briscoe faced a similar situation where his tire was loose, and it rolled out on the track, leading to a 2-lap penalty and their pit crew being suspended. Bell’s quick thinking avoided such a harsh penalty. While he did have to go to the back of the grid, his teammate Denny Hamlin fears that the controversial move may lead to NASCAR coming up with additional measures to prevent this in the future.

Denny Hamlin wants to avoid testing NASCAR’s patience

Christopher Bell was a man on a mission. Despite starting the race from the back of the grid, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver quickly gained track positions after benefitting from caution in the middle of green flag pit stops, which helped him finish in 10th place at the end of Stage 1. Determined to be in contention for yet another victory, the Oklahoman drove up to second by Lap 108, after which the bizarre incident took place on the pit road.

The No. 20 crew failed to secure a wheel, prompting Adam Stevens to devise a quick strategy where Christopher Bell pulled into Chase Briscoe’s stall. Reflecting on the incident, Bell’s teammate, Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast, “I know it’s been a thing. It’s not the first time it’s happened. But no, I don’t think I’ve ever done it.” After thinking long and hard about whether it should be allowed, Hamlin rationalized his thoughts, saying, “It’s not like there was no penalty right? He still had to go to the back. I agree. I wouldn’t want to mess with it. Let’s not create another rule in the middle of the season.”

Well, Hamlin is right, this wouldn’t be the first time NASCAR would tweak its rules in the middle of the season. While last season’s Damaged Vehicle Police did see an official rule change for 2025, the inconsistencies in officiating during 2024 were a pertinent issue. Josh Berry was forced to retire in Kansas for not being able to make it to pit road on flat tires, while Chase Elliott was towed to pit road for repairs at Talladega. However, this wasn’t NASCAR officially changing the rule, as they did during the 2017 season with the OT line.

For those who remember, before the green-white-checkered finish, NASCAR had implemented an overtime line. This was a line on the backstretch that, if the race leader crossed during overtime and then caution was brought out, they would be declared the race winner. This caused some major controversy in events where the caution was called late. A prime example is Kasey Kahne in the Brickyard 400 earlier in 2017.

Kahne was 5 seconds behind the OT line when Denny Hamlin crashed into the wall behind them. Everyone expected a restart, but NASCAR called the caution very late. By the time the yellow flag was out, Kahne had crossed the OT line and was declared the race winner. This led to widespread backlash, so it’s no surprise NASCAR changed its approach mid-season. The green-white-checkered finish, while controversial, decreases the overall complexity of ‘Did he cross the line or not?’

So, does Bell’s move warrant a rule change? Probably not. The backlash is not as severe. The community seems to understand that he did it for safety reasons and was penalized for it too. Bell later lamented the pit stop as a dagger in his hopes of winning four in a row.

Following the double pit stop, Christopher Bell spent the rest of the Pennzoil 400 trying to make ground, ultimately being forced to settle for a 12th-place finish, ending his three-race winning streak. While it’s not an outcome Bell wanted, the 30-year-old said, “I felt like we were in position in stage two to contend for another win, but it got away from us.” While Bell’s fairytale run comes to an end, he can take solace in the fact that his race was not completely ruined. His crew chief, Adam Stevens, reflected on the bold call last race.

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Adam Stevens explains Christopher Bell’s pit road decision

It felt like a fight against all odds. From starting the Pennzoil 400 at the back to incurring NASCAR’s penalty, it seemed Christopher Bell was always fighting an uphill battle at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He wasn’t the only one who had problems on the pit road. Kyle Busch saw his tire come loose in the middle of the race, adding to a line of sloppy pit crew executions in Las Vegas last week. While the result may not have been exactly what they would have hoped for, quick thinking helped the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing team avoid a bigger catastrophe, which they saw happen to their teammate, Chase Briscoe.

Speaking to Kelly Crandall of RACER.com, Adam Stevens revealed that using a teammate’s pit crew was always a backup plan for Christopher Bell. The crew chief said, “Oh, that’s something we’ve talked about.” Defending the unusual move that is rarely seen in the Cup Series, Stevens went on to say, “We’re allowed to do that. It was tough. Starting in the back is never fun, but man, we got all the way up there to P2.”

While NASCAR would prefer such issues be resolved on the pit road instead of a wheel going loose on the track, the sanctioning body felt the need to penalize Christopher Bell to discourage the Oklahoman, as well as other drivers from repeating such a maneuver. Could more such incidents prompt the sport’s hierarchy to devise a new rule with harsher punishments for the infringement? It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, even though Denny Hamlin hopes that the incident in Las Vegas was a one-off for Bell’s crew.