The outcome of Sunday’s 4Ever 400 was beyond anybody’s guess. While the experts gave the edge to HMS’ Kyle Larson who was coming off the momentum from Vegas, a late race incident sealed the #5 driver’s fate as he went out of the race on a sour note. The scene was dark for Joe Gibbs Racing veteran duo of Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr as well.

While both Hamlin and Truex Jr met their match in the closing laps of the 267-lap race, their JGR teammate, Christopher Bell out of nowhere put on a clinical performance to punch his ticket into the final 4, reclaiming the team’s glory at the intermediate track.

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Christopher Bell redeems himself with a spectacular performance as the veteran JGR duo fails to deliver

Until the final 40 or 50 laps of the race, the #20 Toyota never looked like it was going in for the kill. The race was initially dominated by Larson who won Stage 1, followed by Team Penske‘s Ryan Blaney who aced the 2nd stage. Moreover, JGR’s veteran driver, Denny Hamlin was hanging in there at the top, racking up valuable playoff points as he looked to settle things once and for all.

However, a late slip-up took away the #11 driver’s chances as the crew took the car to the garage after kissing the wall off of turn 1 when he was 3rd. With Hamlin going out in the 236th lap, JGR‘s bad dreams turned into a visceral nightmare when Truex Jr also got back to the garage after the #19 Toyota started developing engine troubles.

Only Bell remained for JGR. Seeing the opportunity he pounced, quickly chasing down Blaney for the 2nd spot before he cleared the then-race leader, going down and passing him on the inside. And just like that, the 28-year-old shattered all expectations, acing the same track that he deemed was out of his reach, getting himself a free pass into the championship round.

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