Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insiders

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Christopher Bell felt like he didn't make an unsafe move in the final turns Sunday night at Martinsville Speedway.

He simply made a mistake that resulted in him hitting the wall in the final corner and running.

It was a mistake — or a move, depending on your point of view — that ultimately determined the NASCAR Championship 4 field. And Bell isn't there.

NASCAR concluded that Bell had made an unsafe move and placed him at the end of the lap he was on (he was one lap down), costing him four spots and leaving him four points shy of placing 4 to advance. William Byron earned it. Race winner Ryan Blaney joined previous semifinal round winners Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick in receiving an automatic chance to fight for the title next Sunday in Phoenix.

“I made a mistake and slid into the wall,” Bell said. “They considered this a security breach. …I don't know what to say. I didn't advance my position into the wall. I lost time on the track.”

“That shouldn’t be the case.”

At the Martinsville race two years ago, Ross Chastain made a daring move that will forever remain in NASCAR history as “Hail Melon” when he floored the accelerator in Turn 3 and used the wall to steer his car, gaining enough places to advance to the championship round.

NASCAR announced at the start of the 2023 season that the move would be considered a violation of its safety policies. It said it was a violation of NASCAR rules “to endanger the safety of an event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of participants.” Officials, spectators or others.”

So there is no specific rule for wall driving – if a driver takes the time and hits the wall properly, the driver can turn faster. The rule states that security breaches are handled on a case-by-case basis. At Martinsville, there is an area just past Turn 4 where the wall is locked and locked during the race, but opens to allow transport vehicles to enter the track (there is no vehicle tunnel).

NASCAR took more than 20 minutes to make a decision on Bell's move before declaring it unsafe.

“(He) clearly hit the fence there in (turns) three and four and carried the fans away until the fourth,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “Strictly speaking, it’s about protecting both our drivers and our fans. So, yeah, it was pretty easy.”

Even Byron struggled to celebrate as he finished tied for last place with Bell. The top finisher of the Phoenix race (the entire field takes part) among Byron, Logano, Reddick and Blaney wins the title.

“It’s really hard to believe,” Byron said. “It’s just a crazy sequence of events.”

Byron was dejected because, although he became the subject of controversy, it was not of his own making. Several Chevrolet drivers (including Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain) ran close behind him, but did not pass him near the end of the race.

“It was clear what was going on,” Bell said.

On Bell's side, his Toyota brother Bubba Wallace slowed on the final lap and Bell passed him just before the fateful maneuver.

“They never moved me, but they ran a tough race,” Byron said. “They still come into the corner hard.

“You don’t get that big lead right away to go back to someone like (Wallace). It’s a tough race and we’re all at the limit.”

Wallace said he lost his car's handling.

“I got loose or something broke and I messed with it,” Wallace said. “He tried to push me away and I said, 'Brother, I'm just trying to wait for the right moment and not crash.'”

Sawyer said they would investigate whether a driver tampered with the end of the race. NASCAR has handed out harsh penalties to drivers they say tampered with the finish.

“We take all the data and video,” Sawyer said. “We listen to audio in the car. We do it all just like we would at any event.”

The NASCAR playoff system is designed to create drama until the bitter end, which can put a spotlight on decisions. NASCAR eliminates four drivers after each of the three rounds of three races. A win in the round automatically entitles you to advance to the next round, with any remaining places determined by the points scored in the round.

NASCAR had to make several decisions over the last three months that affected the playoffs – they decided that Austin Dillon could keep his Richmond win but couldn't use it to get into the playoffs because he made contact with him along the way two other cars had quit; They disqualified Alex Bowman in Charlotte for being underweight, knocking him out of the playoffs. and now the decision in Martinsville.

Bell Team owner Joe Gibbs declined comment on what he thought of the decision after leaving a post-race meeting with NASCAR officials. He said he wanted to appeal the decision, but Sawyer said it was not appealable.

“I’m not bitter,” Bell said. “It just wasn't meant to be. I am proud of the success we had in 2024. It's a shame not to go to Phoenix (with a chance at the title). … Luckily I have a few.” I'm going to extend my contract for more years, so I'll try again.

Before leaving pit road after the race, Bell went to Byron and they hugged.

“That’s not how I wanted it to be,” Bell told him. “But congratulations.”

Byron told reporters he felt the rule was clear.

“We sat together at a meeting in Phoenix two years ago and talked about the ruling and whether it should be done again and came to the conclusion that the security of the crossover gate there would pop open and split the car in half could,” Byron said.

Sawyer implied the same thing – he didn't like having to make the call and it took them so long to make a decision to make sure they made the right call.

“I'm not going to speculate about what Christopher did or said, what he wanted to do,” Sawyer said. “It wouldn't be fair to try to make a decision like that based on that.” We looked at the data. We watched the video. We made it very clear based on our discussions with our industry and this move two years ago that this would not be tolerated.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has covered motorsports for decades, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene Magazine and the (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @Bobpock breed.

Get more from the NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites for information on games, news and more