Christopher Bell holds up a giant lobster while celebrating with his wife, Morgan, after winning the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
LOUDON, N.H. — Christopher Bell’s crew chief tried to give him a little bit of coaching – some encouragement with about 40 laps left in the race – and was promptly told, well, basically to shush.
“He told me that he had it under control,” crew chief Adam Stevens said with a laugh, “and he clearly did.”
Bell explained later there were so many laps left in the race that he didn’t need a reminder of how far the No. 20 Toyota had to go to reach the finish line.
Plus, Bell already knew the way to reach Victory Lane at his favorite track.
Bell tightened the pressure on the remaining winless drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race with a victory Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, becoming the 14th different winner this season.
“That one was much needed right there,” the 27-year-old Bell said.
Bell mastered the track where he won Xfinity Series races in 2018, 2019 and 2021, holding off Chase Elliott, last week’s winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With six races left in the regular season and 14 winners already, it leaves open the possibility that someone who has won this season will get pushed out of the 16-car playoff field.
That’s a worry for another day for Bell, who led the final 42 lap for Joe Gibbs Racing. His only other Cup win came in the second race of the 2021 season on Daytona’s road course.
“That car was not very good when it started the race,” team owner Joe Gibbs said. “It was middle-of-the-pack. It was struggling. At the end, they got him going in the right direction.”
Elliott finished second for Hendrick Motorsports, and Bubba Wallace was third for 23XI Racing. Martin Truex Jr. dominated early and finished fourth. Kevin Harvick completed the top five.
Elliott finished first or second for the fourth straight race.
“We were in a position where guys at this level really should close out a race if you’ve got the lead like that,” Elliott said. “Just poor effort on my part.”
Bell gave JGR its fourth win this season and 12th all-time at New Hampshire.
Bell entered the race in 16th place in the points standings – 19 above the cutline.
“If you’re race car is fast and you have a first-place car, it’s pretty easy to get to first as long as you do your job,” Bell said. “I had a first-place race car at the end of that race. Basically, the third stage, my car was the fastest one out there, especially on the long run. I did my job to maximize that.”
His biggest concern Sunday was trying to handle the 21-pound lobster awarded to the winner.
“Earlier in the year, I felt like we were right on the verge of winning,” Bell said. “In the last couple of weeks, I thought we were pretty far away. Now, here we are today.”
TRUEX FADES
Truex won the first two stages and led 172 laps before he faded after a poor pit stop. He started from the pole and seemed poised to snap a season-long winless drought. Without a victory, Truex is on the playoff bubble. Ryan Blaney is third in the points standings and Truex fourth, yet both could miss the playoffs. This is the third time in the last 20 years (2002, 2003, 2011) there have been 14 different winners in the first 20 races.
TRADING PAINT
Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon used their cars as battering rams midway through the race. Dillon hit Keselowski in the door on the backstretch. Keselowski retaliated and smacked Dillon on the passenger’s side of the car and ran him off the track.
“We’ve gone at it a couple of times the last two years. One time, I hit really hard,” Dillon said. “I just don’t like the way certain people race me.”
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