When a driver buckles himself up to a stock car moments before he is about to run 200 miles per hour around a NASCAR oval, he hopes that it’s he who gets to unbuckle himself after the race. Such is the nature of the sport of NASCAR. From the grandstands, it might not seem so, but danger lurks in every nook and corner of the arena of NASCAR. And this was evident during Sunday’s race.

The entire day at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway stood out as a head-on battle between Hendrick Motorsports icon Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing sensation Christopher Bell. With merely two more races left till NASCAR unleashed its fury at Phoenix Raceway, none of them were ready to go easy.

Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman admitted to having sweated it off on the closing laps

The fiercest point of the rumble ensued on the last lap after Kyle Larson had already made a critical pit stop. Along turn 3, Kyle Larson stayed in the lower groove of the 1.5-mile asphalt-shrouded tri-oval while Bell took hold of the higher. About two car lengths apart from each other, the close fight between these two drivers had the audience glued to their seats and screaming at the top of their lungs in excitement.

As the duo entered turn 4, Larson moved up the track and Bell tried clearing him from the inside. But Kyle Larson, being the experienced driver that he is, blocked Bell on the inside and capitalized on his fresh tires to hold Bell off by 0.082 seconds, winning the first seat in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. However, the victory didn’t come without hurdles.

When the 2021 Cup Series champion rammed the right-rear corner of his Chevy into the outside wall, the number 5 team, along with HMS vice chairman Jeff Gordon, seemed to have lost all hopes of winning. Luckily for Larson, the contact was not a direct one, as the car just bounced off the wall once and continued running the race without any major damage.

During a post-race media availability, Gordon admitted, “Usually even that slight damage has an effect on the performance but seemed like their car was bounced right back and then it was a total team effort.”

“Sometimes you don’t know how hard these guys are working, how on edge these cars are until something like that happens and reminds you how hard they’re pushing,” he added.

For Jeff Gordon, the last few laps were the most decisive of them all. He exclaimed, “That last pit stop; I thought that was a great stop to get him out upfront. Still had to battle it out on the restarts but my gosh, what a nail-biter on those last few laps. I was sweating that one there.”

The 52-year-old HMS legend did not miss the chance to give a shout-out to Christopher Bell, who had really put up a strong competition against Kyle Larson.

“You saw Bell really working that outside lane and making some great momentum off the corner,” he said, “didn’t seem that there was a whole lot that Kyle could do there than just stick to his line.”

Indeed, a place 2 finish at Las Vegas was an extremely close call for Christopher Bell, who seemed to take it too hard on himself for not being able to seize his opportunity to make it to the top 4. However, Bell is still not out of the rumble.

Watch This Story: Kyle Larson Namedrops “Top-3 Guy” as Biggest Championship Roadblock

Christopher Bell needs to utilize his biggest strength at Homestead Miami

Trending

“My Body Needed Time”: Tony Stewart’s Wife, Leah, Discloses Her Roadblocks to Motherhood Amid Racing Dilemma

NASCAR Insider Urges Rick Hendrick to Rope In ‘Next Kyle Larson’ After $100,000 Win

Joe Gibbs Racing Potentially Blocking Truck Series Phenom on Denny Hamlin’s Radar After On-Track Bad Blood

Trackhouse Racing’s Drastic Downfall to Potentially Get Worse With One of Their Founding Fathers Leaving Mid-Season

Dale Earnhardt Jr Pressures NASCAR to Punish Drivers ‘Crossing the Line’, Salutes SVG’s Racing Morals

When 40 cars run at full throttle to grab the checkered flag and burn out in front of a cheering crowd, a good start goes a long way toward deciding the outcome of a race. And it seems like the number 20 team does know how to qualify.

Let’s wind the clock block back a few weeks. Bell won his first playoff pole win at Darlington Raceway. The following week, he did it again at Kansas. And the following week was no different. Three back-to-back pole wins and yet, none of them bore fruit.

Fast forward to yesterday, Christopher Bell won his 6th pole of the season as he flaunted an impressive lap of 186.335 mph. But even this time, the win slipped away from his hands.

However, for the Christopher Bell fans out there, Martinsville Speedway brings good news. Remember the way he made his way for the first time in the Championship 4 last year at Martinsville Speedway? Let’s just hope that happens again.

Read More: Christopher Bell Makes Painful 9-Word Admission After Falling 0.082 Seconds Short of Appeasing Joe Gibbs