MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Christopher Bell sat on the pit road wall at Martinsville Speedway, cold and hungry after completing 500 laps around the short track.
Videos by FanBuzz
Any other week of the season, he wouldn't still be on pit road surrounded by people. However, he remained there on Sunday as NASCAR took a full 27 minutes to decide that he had received a penalty that eliminated him from the playoffs and put William Byron into the Championship 4.
"I don't know what to say," Bell told media members gathered around him. "I mean, I didn't advance my position into the wall. I lost time on the racetrack, but it wasn't meant to be, and it's fine."
Bell's comments referenced the final lap of the race. He passed Bubba Wallace in Turn 3 and then slammed into the outside wall. This looked similar to Ross Chastain's Hail Melon in 2022, which has since been banned by NASCAR, but Bell said that it was not an intentional move.
Should Christopher Bell race for the NASCAR Championship?
Watch this move on the final lap. pic.twitter.com/3A3BrNe0fd
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 3, 2024
"I just got loose," Bell said. "I was trying to get by the 23 and whenever I did, I was kind of pinned in between the 10 (Noah Gragson) and the 23 and slid into the wall.
"Whenever I slid into the wall, I knew that I had to have that position and just tried to get to the line. I didn't intentionally floor it and go into the fence; I slipped into the wall and that's all she wrote."
The pass occurred after Wallace's car suddenly slowed and opened up the opportunity for Bell. The 23XI Racing driver told media members on pit road that the car "went loose or something broke" and that he was just trying to nurse it through the final lap.
How the pass happened ultimately didn't matter. NASCAR determined that Bell violated the rule created in the wake of the Hail Melon. They dropped the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to 22nd in the running order, which put him below Byron in points and eliminated him from the playoffs.
"We looked at the data, we looked at video — and we've been very clear based off our conversations with our industry based off that move two years ago — that that (move) would not be tolerated," Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer told media members after the race.
Christopher Bell will NOT advance to the championship after NASCAR determines his last-lap move was a safety violation.
William Byron will advance. pic.twitter.com/dAOL2QpWQG
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 3, 2024
Sawyer, who met with Joe Gibbs and other team executives for 15 minutes after the race, noted that the team could not appeal the decision. He said the safety violation was a race penalty, similar to a loose wheel or too many men over the wall.
The safety violation that eliminated Bell from the playoffs was not the only controversial moment that overshadowed a solid Martinsville race featuring more passing than normal. Another involved Byron and multiple other Chevrolet drivers.
Byron was sixth in the running order as the laps clicked down. He was one point ahead of Bell and in possession of the final Championship 4 spot.
All he had to do was maintain his position and hope that Bell didn't gain any spots. This was his path to the Championship 4.
Two other Chevrolet drivers appeared to go out of their way to help Byron achieve his goal. Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon rode side-by-side behind Byron. Neither attempted to pass the No. 24 Chevrolet.
Chastain and Dillon also blocked Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar, ensuring that neither driver could pass Byron.
Austin Dillon's onboard
What was said on the radio that wouldn't have been said during a normal race & the finish to the race. pic.twitter.com/ViiiJrHlYk
— Andrew (@Basso488) November 4, 2024
Radio communication from the No. 3 team had multiple team members talking about "knowing the deal." The team also asked if Chastain's crew chief "knew the deal."
NASCAR has penalized teams for race manipulation and failing to follow the 100% rule in past seasons. It has made decisions based on radio communication.
One example was the 2022 Roval elimination race in which Cole Custer suddenly slowed in front of Dillon and allowed teammate Chase Briscoe to make the pass he needed to move on to the Round of 8 on points.
The radio communication from the team told Custer that he had a flat tire. NASCAR determined that the team couldn't see the tires at the particular part of the track where Custer raced, so it hammered Stewart-Haas Racing with penalties. The list included a $100,000 fine to Custer and an indefinite suspension to crew chief Mike Shiplett.
NASCAR said that it did not look at Wallace or the Chevrolet drivers before deciding to penalize Bell at Martinsville. The sanctioning body only focused on the No. 20 hitting the wall at the time. The other teams will go under the microscope as the week progresses.
"We'll look at everything," Sawyer said. "As I said earlier, we want to go back, as we would have done anyway.
"We'll get back (to the R&D Center), we'll take all the data, video. We'll listen to in-car audio. We'll do all that, as we would any event."
Additional penalties could come from examination, but the expectation is that it would not change the Championship 4 lineup.
Byron will remain championship-eligible while Bell will move forward to next season and have more opportunities to win races and get into the playoffs.
"It is a shame that it comes down to a ball and strike call like that," Bell said. "You can look at both sides of the fence - the Chevy organization had a lot of blocking going on so that the 24 didn't lose positions.
"I slid into the wall and kept my foot into it. I guess that is a losing move."
