CONCORD, N.C. — Christopher Bell did not mince words on Sunday evening after he lost a drag race to the finish line at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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"I think I'm just in shock right now," Bell told media members on pit road after finishing runner-up to teammate Chase Briscoe. "I didn't think it was going to end like that."
The final 10 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway caught Bell by surprise. He went from being out of contention for the win to suddenly fighting for the lead.
Briscoe initially had a lead of more than two seconds after taking the lead on the restart with approximately 60 laps to go. Meanwhile, Bell struggled with a loose race car.
It appeared that Bell had his hands full trying to keep the car pointed in the right direction. He continued to jerk the wheel back and forth while Briscoe navigated through lapped traffic, all the while moving closer and closer to his second consecutive win.
Briscoe also won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend to get back into championship contention.
Yet, the situation changed drastically with two laps remaining. Bell pulled within reach of Briscoe's bumper, and he began running the bottom line on the track.
CHASE BRISCOE WINS AT CHARLOTTE IN A PHOTO FINISH! pic.twitter.com/leoT2oMBUA
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 11, 2026
This strategy put the two drivers side-by-side entering Turn 3 on the final lap of the race. They remained next to each other on the exit of the turn, and then they made contact as Bell wiggled and tagged Briscoe.
Both drivers kept their cars pointed in the right direction coming to the finish line. Briscoe took the win by a mere 0.029 seconds and locked up the bonus points that have become so crucial in the Chase format.
Bell, who won stage 2, finished second and ended up with 53 points on the day.
"Yeah, it's useless," Bell said about his points. He did not initially expand on this comment, but he provided further comments when asked about having another strong run.
"It doesn't do any good in the grand scheme of things," Bell said after scoring his eighth second-place finish of the season. "I came in negative 55 — is that right — and I'm leaving negative 51. That ain't gonna do it."
Bell now has four races remaining to try to erase the points gap to leader Kyle Larson. He will head to Phoenix Raceway, a track where he finished second in the spring. After that, it's Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead. He has one career win at Homestead and one at Martinsville.
