Strategic Misfire and Late Race Crash Cost Christopher Bell Victory
5 months agoFor the second consecutive year, Christopher Bell dominated Stage 2 at the Chicago Street Course in treacherous conditions before bad luck befell him after getting stuck in traffic. Bell elected to switch from wet tires to slicks at the end of Stage 2 in yesterday's race, which dropped him to 13th. However, that move was questionable because NASCAR had already announced the race would end in thirty minutes. Nonetheless, Bell made a remarkable charge and was poised to take fourth with three laps left when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. bumped Martin Truex, Jr. into him, which wrecked Bell out of the race and relegated him to a 37th-place finish. Bell probably would have run down Alex Bowman to win had he not been wrecked, but he almost certainly would have led the rest of the race if he'd stayed out of the pits. Arguably the No. 20 team outfoxed themselves in this one.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference