Kyle Petty Acquits Christopher Bell, Pins Blame on Kyle Busch Instead for COTA Debacle

Christopher Bell had a good race at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, but he received a lot of criticism from fans and insiders for his aggressive driving. The Joe Gibbs Racing star had a heated moment with Kyle Larson when he ran straight into the driver, and it seemed as blatant as it gets. Later, at the end of the race, he also had a contact with Kyle Busch over an incident that saw Rowdy spun by the driver of the #20. However, not everyone believes that it is the Joe Gibbs Racing star’s fault, and former Cup Series driver Kyle Petty is one of them. The veteran also appreciated how quick Bell was to own up to his mistakes.

Kyle Petty thinks Kyle Busch occasionally drove like he was the “only car on the race track”

In a recent video released by NASCAR, Petty spoke about Bell’s performance and his incidents during the race. As a racer, the one thing you’d think about when you see a gap is to go for it and make the pass. To be fair, if you’re not going for the gap, are you even a motorsports athlete? That’s exactly what the Joe Gibbs Racing star tried to do to Rowdy. However, he did not expect the #8 car to suddenly come in front of him. Talking about the incident, Kyle Petty dissected the incident, where he indicated that Christopher Bell might not have been at fault.

“The second incident with Kyle Busch is a little bit more. There was a little bit of something there. Kyle Busch drove that corner like he was the only car on the race track. Christopher Bell filled the hole to the inside. Kyle cuts back across, Christopher is there. That’s what you learn to do at every race track you ever race on. Fill the hole. Christopher Bell filled the hole, Kyle Busch come back across. Now what I enjoyed was the after-the-race confrontation when Kyle Busch comes up trying to teach Christopher Bell how to count 1 2 3. He’s holding up his fingers. He says ‘I owe you one’ although he’s holding up 3 fingers,” he said.

However, Kyle Petty had a different tone while discussing Bell’s contact with Kyle Larson. This time Kyle Petty didn’t let the JGR driver off the hook for the contact that effectively ruined the #5’s race in a big way. But he also appreciated the JGR star’s endearing response right after the bump, yet again.

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Christopher Bell’s humble gesture praised by Cup Series veteran

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In today’s competitive world, sportsmanship is a quality that doesn’t get enough credit. So, when Christopher Bell owned up to his mistake the very second he made one on the track, Kyle Petty was happy to see it.

“Okay COTA yesterday. What we saw was Christopher Bell hit everybody at the race track named Kyle instead of me. Yes I was there yesterday watching all the action. Now look at the first incident, he gets into Kyle Larson, that’s straight up Christopher Bell. When you hit somebody dead square from behind on the race track, it’s just like on the highway. You get the ticket, ticket for Christopher Bell. He owned up to it, I have got to admit, he manned up, he said ‘that’s all me’,” the former Cup Series racer said.

Christopher Bell ran well in COTA but missed out on the win and finished P2. He will be hungry for a victory when NASCAR goes to Richmond this coming weekend. Will he be able to be on Victory Lane? Let us know your thoughts.

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