Christopher Bell Wins at Charlotte Roval, Secures Playoff Spot
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
On a day where he had to win to advance to the Round of eight, Christopher Bell did just that. The Charlotte Roval marked the last race of the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Chase Elliott’s win at Talladega last week secured his spot in the Round of eight, but the rest of the field were not safe. Ryan Blaney’s chances were pretty good in the second spot, but the chaos of the Roval left uncertainty for everyone. Points were tight going into this elimination race, so the driving was expected to be crazy.
And crazy it was.
With three laps to go, Christopher Bell was in the sixth position and seemingly would not be able to make the run needed to win and secure his spot in the next round. However, an aggressive move by Tyler Reddick, who’s already been eliminated from the playoffs, put notably talented road course driver Chase Elliott in the grass, spinning. This combative move gave Christopher Bell just the lane he needed to slide around the turmoil and into the third position. Bell’s pit strategy played into his favor, as he had the freshest tires on the track. He was already gaining on race leader, Kevin Harvick, when the caution came out for Ty Dillon’s stalled car. This caution meant there would be overtime to decide the fate of Christopher Bell’s NASCAR season. Bell’s restart was a good one, and he was able to overtake Harvick for the lead.
The drama didn’t end here, though. Austin Cindric was in a good place to secure the final spot in the Round of 8, but he was spun on the next to last lap. In an insane final two laps, Chase Briscoe was able to move up seven spots. This eliminated defending champion, Kyle Larson. When Christopher Bell crossed the finish line, he catapulted himself into the Round of eight. The field for the Round of eight looks like so: Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, William Byron, Ross Chastain, and Chase Briscoe. Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Alex Bowman were eliminated.