2 months agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell ended Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in the seventh position after mistakes mired a potentially dominant performance. Beginning the race from the pole, Bell established himself quickly as one of the top drivers of the field. The No. 20 Toyota driver led the opening 72 laps of the first stage before grazing the wall while trying to hold off William Byron. Bell ended the first stage in fifth after losing ground but still gained stage points. After regaining some of the ground lost in early pit stops during the second stage, Bell returned to the lead before Ryan Blaney passed him on lap 140. Bell nabbed the lead again after a caution before the end of the second stage and looked to stay ahead for another stage victory, but hit the wall again and faded back to 16th, collecting no stage points. In the final stage, Bell slowly progressed through the pack, even during green flag pit stops and cautions, and by the race's final green flag run, he made it back inside the Top 10 and settled for the sixth top-10 of his career at Kansas. Bell is now 28 points above the playoff cut line as the Cup Series heads to Talladega, a track where he has two top-10 finishes in nine starts.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com