In a wild final lap that left fans buzzing, William Byron and Christopher Bell found themselves at the center of a heated NASCAR debate. It all started with Bell’s bold move—a gutsy attempt to pull off a wall-ride maneuver in Turn 4—something that’s rarely seen and usually remembered. Bell was trying to gain any extra position he could, hoping to replicate Ross Chastain’s legendary “Hail Melon” move from 2022, where the #1 driver famously rode the wall to pass multiple cars and secure a spot in the playoffs.

Bell’s attempt wasn’t exactly smooth, though. His car got loose, and before he knew it, he was scraping along the wall, managing to pass Bubba Wallace right before the finish line. This move gave Bell a valuable point, but NASCAR didn’t let it slide. Officials reviewed the incident and decided Bell’s wall ride breached safety rules, dropping him from P18 to P22. That change came with huge implications. Thanks to Bell’s penalty, William Byron nabbed the final spot in the Championship 4, leaving Bell out in the cold.

Naturally, the decision stirred up plenty of controversy. Fans and drivers began debating whether NASCAR was consistent with their calls. Bell argued that his move was unintentional. NASCAR, however, stood by their ruling, stating that safety violations couldn’t be ignored. With the final spot in the top 4 given to a Hendrick Motorsports driver, many fans started to question if NASCAR was using favoritism to influence their decision.

After the race, the #20 driver was perplexed: “I don’t know what to say…I understand that the rule was made to prevent people from riding the wall, but my move was completely different than what Ross [Chastain’s] was. I got loose getting into the corner a slid right into the fence. I don’t know what else to say.” In another interview, he continued, “It is a shame that it comes down to a ball and strike call like that. You can look at both sides of the fence – the Chevy organization had a lot of blocking going on so that the 24 (William Byron) didn’t lose positions. I slid into the wall and kept my foot into it. I guess that is a losing move.”

 NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, on the other hand, defended the controversial call, saying, “There was language in the rule book. When you look at it today, (Bell) clearly got up against the fence there in (turns) three and four, and rode the wall all the way off four there. Strictly it’s to protect our drivers as well as our fans. So yeah, it was pretty straightforward.”

“I’m not going to speculate on what Christopher did or said 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. We looked at video. We’ve been very clear, based off our conversations with our industry, based off that move two years ago, that that would not be tolerated,” the official concluded.

According to Bob Pockrass, Joe Gibbs kept it simple, but made his feelings pretty clear about the whole situation. When asked about Christopher Bell’s penalty that cost his driver a spot in the Championship 4, Gibbs admitted that he’d love to protest the decision—only to say that NASCAR told him there’s no option to do so. He stopped short of giving his full opinion on the call, though; instead, Gibbs held back from any big criticism, leaving fans wondering what he really thought.

By now, it’s a known fact that Hendrick Motorsports is the most successful team in NASCAR. With over 300 wins, the team is the winningest and has drivers with some of the biggest fan bases. It’s only fair that from time to time, fans suspect NASCAR to be favoring the team, which is exactly the case this time. It’s safe to say that they were not very patient or happy either, as social media users started swarming the comments section to share their thoughts…

Unhappy fans raising their voice against alleged favoritism in NASCAR

One fan didn’t hold back, stating, “Hendrick runs NASCAR so of course not.” This comment hit at the heart of the belief that Hendrick Motorsports has a significant influence within NASCAR, implying that the team’s success and connections give them an unfair advantage. It’s a sentiment shared by many who feel that the sport’s governance is too favorable to its biggest names.

Another fan added to this sentiment with, “Certainly seems to add credibility to the allegations of @NASCAR being a monopoly and dictatorship.” Notably, this is not the first time NASCAR has been accused of favoring Hendrick Motorsports. Last year, the team was handed a penalty and received a points cut for modifying hood louvers before the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. However, the Appeals panel soon overturned the decision giving them theit 400 driver/owner points and 40 playoff points back, deepening speculations of bias. The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck had called HMS “the New York Yankees of NASCAR” and said back then, “The appeals panel never releases specifics on its decision, so we don’t know why the three panelists opted to reduce the penalties. If this is the precedent that has been set, it could truly weaken the entire Next Gen model, which is based on every team purchasing the same, unmodified parts from a single supplier.”

However, not everyone saw the situation as unjust. One fan firmly declared, “The move was illegal; there’s nothing to protest,” while another agreed, writing, “The video was clear; there’s nothing to protest.”  For the unversed: As per Rule 10.5.2.6.A of the NASCAR rulebook, pertaining to “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”.

One social media user captured the essence of resignation with their comment, “We know what he thought of the decision but what can he do?”

Well, the fans are certainly divided with NASCAR’s decision. Who do you think should be in the Championship 4? Share your thoughts in the comments below.