“Great racing all day.” NASCAR visited Austin, Texas, and COTA roared to life once more. Right from the drop of the green flag to the checkered flag, COTA gave us a thrilling masterclass of road course racing that we have been missing for some time from NASCAR’s road racing events. We asked for a great weekend, and the newly revamped 2.40-mile track delivered.

The tension of the final laps was thick enough to cut with a knife. With drivers locked in an intense battle for the lead. Kyle Busch, known for his aggressive driving, was defending the lead in hopes of ending his 59-race winless streak from a relentless Christopher Bell, with Tyler Reddick and William Byron not far behind, looking to make this a 4-way fight for the win. 

Every corner was an opportunity, and every breaking zone was a gamble for the drivers, especially for Bell, who was tempted to use his bumper. He had all the opportunity to pull off the move, but his decision to race Rowdy clean left Kevin Harvick in the FOX booth disappointed. But, not everyone agreed with Harvick’s emotional call and preferred the race to play out clean for once.

Easy Way vs the Correct Way

While the drivers were fighting for a win at COTA, with Kyle Busch looking to end his drought and Christopher Bell looking to make this a double after his win in Atlanta, Kevin Harvick, in the commentary booth, was ‘very vocal’, urging Bell to ‘move’ Busch out of the way and pass him. It was a call to action by Harvick against Busch, nudging towards the classic ‘bump and run’ tactic. But something different happened this time, Bell and Busch gave us an exceptional display of clean racing, both drivers racing to the limit but respectful of each other, especially after what happened between these two same drivers at the same track last year, still fresh in everyone’s mind.

The ever-vigilant NASCAR community was buzzing after such a great race. Fan responding to NASCAR legend, Mark Martin’s simple tweet about the race, “Great racing all day,” perfectly summed up the emotions of everyone, “I agree, Mark!!! I really enjoyed it!!! Nothing about the racing today felt artificial, gimmicky, or like manufactured excitement and drama. Just three/four guys racing their a⸺ off in the final laps going for the win. Hopefully this is momentum in the making!!!”

But the conversation didn’t end there, another fan pointed out Harvick’s call to action against Busch, saying, “It kinda bothered me that Harvick kept saying Bell needed to hit him and move him multiple times. Sure, there is a time and place for that, but it was much more enjoyable watching Bell keep pressure on KB and finally work him over. Hell of a job from Bell.” Martin, ever the purist, responded by shutting down Harvick’s call to action, “We need to see that clean determination one in a while instead of doing it the easy way. I’m made the win even more legit.”

Martin, with his tweet, shut down the idea that a forced pass, a ‘bump and run’, is the only way to pass in difficult situations. He praised Bell’s ability to race cleanly and sent a powerful message – racing integrity still matters in NASCAR. A stark opposite to Harvick, who is no stranger to ‘bump and run’, doing the same ‘coincidently’ to Kyle Busch at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, back in 2018.

This isn’t just about last weekend’s race at COTA, think about it, how many times have we seen a race being decided by a ‘bump and run’ in the ending stage, or a questionable move to win a race? While these can definitely create drama, what does this mean for the spirit of sport? Interestingly, Harvick himself came to his senses while talking to Bell in an exclusive interview. And the JGR driver laid down all the right reasons for not wrecking Busch to grab the lead last Sunday. 

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Christopher Bell learnt his COTA lesson

Just a year ago at COTA, Bell had an encounter with Kyle Busch on the racetrack and he spun the No. 8 car around. Despite the aggressive shoves and trading paint the JGR driver had to settle for a runner-up finish. Next thing you know, Rowdy Busch confronts his former teammate, threatening him about a payback. So, you see Bell was in a precarious situation when he was charging at the No. 8 Chevy last Sunday in Austin.

He had plenty of opportunities to just bump into Busch and grab the lead late in the race. In fact, he did try to pull off the 2024 move in Turn 1, the only difference, this time around he bailed out. Learning from his past mistakes. You do not want to wind up a 2-time Cup Series champ who is desperate to break his 59-race winless streak. In the end, Busch couldn’t keep up with Bell’s antics and was forced out wide for the lead. There was no contact, just hard racing at it’s best, this was something the RCR star appreciated in the post-race interview.

But, Harvick just wasn’t able to wrap his head around why Bell didn’t go all out despite being presented with the opportunities. To which he replied, “As the third stage unfolded and I was second to Kyle, I felt stronger than him. But as he went on for longer, my ability to pass was getting worse. So 24 is notoriously a short pitter, they were the first ones to hit pit road and I think Kyle came a lap later. And Adam gets on the radio and he goes, hey man, just be smooth here and I’m like I got you… I needed all the tire advantage because it wasn’t even having those couple lap newer tires.”

Well, the calmer head certainly prevailed at COTA and it delivered some of the best road course racing action fans had witnessed in a while. Although this was a tough loss for Busch and his team to take, they can go back home with a lot of positives with hopes of coming out strong at Phoenix this Sunday.