Bell secures title shot with dramatic victory

Bell and his #20 Joe Gibbs Racing crew struggled for a lot of the race and at one level he was in peril of falling a lap down.

Nevertheless, a string of cautions within the remaining 60 of 267 laps knocked a number of playoff contenders out of the race and put Bell again within the hunt for the win.

He took the lead for the primary time on a restart on lap 230, and regardless of briefly dropping it he reclaimed it from William Byron with 15 to go. Bell then held off a late cost from Ryan Blaney and edged him by 1.651 seconds to earn his second win of the 2023 season and first within the playoffs.

The victory places Bell within the remaining 4 championship battle at Phoenix in two weeks, the place he’ll be part of Kyle Larson to battle for this season’s title.

“I’ve bought the most effective crew behind me. That race was a whirlwind,” Bell stated. “I used to be able to throw the towel in there within the second stage. I bought annoyed on the radio.

“Adam [Stevens, crew chief] stored after it. The fellows again on the store had been working over the changes and gave me what I wanted. Every time we bought some clear air, this factor was actually good.”

With one race remaining to qualify for the championship 4 title battle, the 4 drivers lowest in factors with out a win and in peril of playoff elimination are Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.

It means Byron and Blaney are the best-placed drivers within the factors going into subsequent week’s Martinsville race that can determine the ultimate two locations for the four-driver title showdown at Phoenix on 5 November.

Tyler Reddick ended up third, Byron fourth and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the highest 5.

Finishing the top-10 had been Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano – who began the race from the rear of the sector in a back-up automotive, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon.

NASCAR Cup Homestead race outcomes (267 laps)