Christopher Bell Badly Struggled at Darlington Until Bailed Out by Pit Strategy
39 seconds agoChristopher Bell finished third at Darlington yesterday, but that was more because he was lucky than good. Despite the fact that Denny Hamlin won the race and Bell ended up with a third-place finish, all the Joe Gibbs Racing cars seemed to be very slow on long runs as Bell started 17th but shockingly fell as low as 30th and nearly got lapped during Stage 1. However, his crew chief Adam Stevens's decision to long-pit in Stage 2 reaped dividends during the Brad Keselowski debris caution as he remained on the lead lap while many of the faster cars were trapped behind him. In a race with minimal passing, Bell was then able to retain and even improve his position. Despite being nowhere to be seen in Stage 1, he finished 6th in Stage 2 and ran in most of the top ten in Stage 3, moving up to third in points but losing 17 points to William Byron.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference

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