Christopher Bell celebrates after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Christopher Bell overtook Brandon Jones with less than 20 laps remaining to capture Saturday’s Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway and pocketed a $100,000 bonus for his efforts.
Bell, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was one of four drivers competing for the series’ Dash 4 Cash bonus. Other eligible drivers didn’t finish far behind – Tyler Reddick finished second, Chase Briscoe finished fourth and Michael Annett wound up eighth.
“That’s pretty cool to get my first win here with the Dash 4 Cash bonus,” Bell said in victory lane. “Joe Gibbs Racing has a really, really good package at Bristol. For whatever reason, we struggled to find that. I didn’t feel good basically all practice and didn’t qualify good.
“As soon as they dropped the green flag for the race, I was really, really loose. But the longer the runs went the better I got.”
Third place went to Cole Custer while John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five.
Reddick, piloting the No. 2 Chevrolet out of the Richard Childress Racing shops, was second in both the first and second stages en route to his runner-up finish.
After leading 61 laps, he mistakenly thought the first stage had ended, and the hesitation while still under green allowed Justin Allgaier to shoot past for the stage win.
Reddick shadowed Allgaier for the entire second stage, only to finish second, then lost five spots on pit road due to an issue in the pits. Late contact with the wall wasn’t an issue, he said, as he tried to chase down Bell.
“Not necessarily getting into the wall,” he said. “These composite bodies are just as durable as can be. I just needed a little bit more there to get past Christopher.
“The unfortunate part is when I got behind him it is hard to make the pass.”
Allgaier won two stages and led 138 of the race’s 300 laps. But during a heated battle up front among himself, Bell, Reddick and Custer, Allgaier’s entry began to slow. Moments later he was pulling his blue and white entry behind pit wall, the victim of an apparent engine issue.
Custer rallied from an early setback that saw him pit twice under yellow to repair damage to his Ford after the opening stage. By the start of the final stage, he was back among the race leaders.
“We just didn’t really have the fire off speed or the perfect scenarios to pass people when we got up in the top five to really get track position,” Custer said. “It was impossible to pass, really. I don’t know. I’m pretty mad because I think we had the best car there at the end, we just didn’t have the best fire off (speed). I know we’ve got to get a little bit better.”
The top four finishers will be eligible for the $100,000 bonus next week at Richmond Raceway. The program will continue in subsequent races at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway.
Jones inherited the lead when he did not pit after Harrison Burton brought out the caution flag at lap 261. With nearly 80-lap old tires, Jones still managed to hold Bell and the others at bay for nearly 20 laps.
“He (Jones) did a great job,” Bell said of his JGR teammate. “He really did. This place, for whatever reason, suits his driving style. He should have won this race last year. … He just couldn’t quite hang on on those older tires. …
“I knew I was going to have to do the slide job and hopefully take the top away, which I was able to do.”
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, TN
Alsco 300 – April 6, 2019
1. (8) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 300.
2. (2) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 300.
3. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 300.
4. (3) Chase Briscoe #, Ford, 300.
5. (10) John Hunter Nemechek #, Chevrolet, 300.
6. (4) Austin Cindric, Ford, 300.
7. (11) Justin Haley #, Chevrolet, 300.
8. (9) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 300.
9. (7) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 300.
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11. (16) Zane Smith, Chevrolet, 300.
12. (14) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 299.
13. (15) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 299.
14. (13) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 298.
15. (19) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 297.
16. (21) Ray Black II, Chevrolet, 296.
17. (20) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 294.
18. (23) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, 294.
19. (25) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 293.
20. (18) Chad Finchum, Toyota, 292.
21. (31) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 292.
22. (26) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 292.
23. (22) Brandon Brown #, Chevrolet, 291.
24. (30) Vinnie Miller, Chevrolet, 291.
25. (32) David Starr, Chevrolet, 289.
26. (28) Tommy Joe Martins, Toyota, 288.
27. (27) Joey Gase, Toyota, 286.
28. (24) Kyle Weatherman(i), Chevrolet, 284.
29. (34) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 272.
30. (6) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Accident, 227.
31. (17) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 193.
32. (36) Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet, Radiator, 190.
33. (12) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 41.
34. (37) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Accident, 40.
35. (33) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Water Pump, 13.
36. (29) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, Ignition, 12.
37. (35) John Jackson, Toyota, Suspension, 9.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.328 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 45 Mins, 3 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.906 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 40 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Custer 1-25;T. Reddick 26-84;J. Allgaier 85-90;T. Reddick 91;J. Allgaier 92-171;T. Reddick 172;J. Allgaier 173-202;C. Bell 203;J. Allgaier 204-225;C. Bell 226-263;B. Jones 264-282;C. Bell 283-300.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) Justin Allgaier 4 times for 138 laps; Tyler Reddick 3 times for 61 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 57 laps; Cole Custer 1 time for 25 laps; Brandon Jones 1 time for 19 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 7,2,00,18,22,98,20,11,23,19
Stage #2 Top Ten: 7,2,20,00,23,22,98,18,19,11
Top 10 in Points: 1. Tyler Reddick – 321; 2. Christopher Bell – 308 (2 Wins); 3. Cole Custer – 275 (1 Win); 4. Austin Cindric – 251; 5. Michael Annett – 238 (1 Win); 6. Justin Allgaier – 231; 7. Brandon Jones – 220; 8. Chase Briscoe – 220; 9. John Hunter Nemechek – 219; 10. Noah Gragson – 219.
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