NASCAR
Christopher Bell Takes Fourth Xfinity Loudon Victory in Overtime Thriller
LOUDON, N.H. – One of the most elite streaks in the Xfinity Series remains alive for another year. Christopher Bell ends up in New Hampshire victory lane for a fourth time, continuing a perfect 4-4 record at this track. Bell was far from the best car over the closing laps however, needing an overtime miracle. Bell is also the fourth different driver to win in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 in 2024.
A series of cautions allowed Sam Mayer to inherit the lead late in Stage 1. Although last week’s winner took the opening Stage, Bell’s No. 20 led all of Stage 2.
Polesitter Cole Custer restarted Stage 3 as the leader, and initially drove off from the field. When the No. 00 made his final pit stop, he led Bell by almost four seconds. Several late yellows kept the field close to Custer’s rear bumper though.
In overtime, Custer had an initial jump but got a nudge from Sheldon Creed. Custer, Creed, and Bell all took the white flag three-wide, with the 20 getting the upper hand in turn two.
Despite losing ground on the last restart, Christopher Bell came in clutch for an unprecedented fourth Loudon win. Bell remains undefeated here in Xfinity Series competition.
“Just being really fortunate, that’s for sure,” Bell said of the last laps. “I feel so bad for Sheldon (Creed), he’s been really really close to winning these things, and today he did everything right to win that race. He restarted in the right lane, gave Cole (Custer) a good push, and then coming to the white flag he got Cole loose. That’s what opened the door for me.
“This Mobil1 Camry was really really good early in the race. Once I lost the track position, I was just kind of another guy. Very fortunate to keep my undefeated streak alive, we got really lucky there,”
“It’s just really cool, Tyler Allen is the crew chief on this thing, and he was my Cup engineer ever since I got into the 20 car. I was really looking forward to racing for Tyler, and he’s got three stickers on here already. We’re going to add a fourth today, so he’s doing a really good job with everyone on this No. 20.”
Behind Bell was his teammate Sheldon Creed, who is second for a 10th time. This ties Dale Jarrett’s record for most runner-ups before an Xfinity win. Other top finishers were Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, and Carson Kvapil. Ryan Sieg, Parker Kligerman, Riley Herbst, Alex Bowman, and Corey Heim were the top-10.
10 races remain until the Xfinity Series Playoffs, with six drivers locked in by wins. Take a look at the bubble battle below, with Sammy Smith currently being the last man in.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action Saturday from Nashville Superspeedway. The Tennessee Lottery 250 goes green at 5 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Last year’s Nashville winner AJ Allmendinger is still winless in 2024; can the No. 16 get back to victory lane?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Johnathan Bachman/Getty Images
