Christopher Bell needed ‘another lap’ to get to William Byron
AUSTIN — Perhaps if the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix had one more lap, Christopher Bell could have had a shot at race-winner William Byron.
After utilizing a pit strategy different from the leaders and having fresher tires, Bell closed to within a second of Byron in the final lap Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), ultimately finishing runner-up after leading twice for nine laps.
“It seems like another lap, and I would have got there for sure with our DEWALT Camry,” Bell said. “Passing was going to be a little more difficult, and I needed him to make a mistake.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had four laps fresher tires than Byron and was chopping about a second off per lap on Byron’s lead.
Bell, whose two of seven NASCAR Cup Series wins have come on road courses, said he may have needed a little bit of help to get around Byron.
“When I got close to him it was going to be tough to pass him,” Bell said. “I needed a couple of mistakes. William (Bryon) has been really, really good on the road courses and he was flawless when it mattered today.”
Bell didn’t finish the race drama free, as competitor Kyle Busch got turned by Bell in Turn 1 during the final stage of the race. Busch rallied to finish ninth.
“I wasn’t trying to make a move or pass him,” Bell said of the move. “He opened his entry up because he was too wide, and I was obviously under him when he came down. I had no intentions of spinning him out at all.”
Bell is ranked sixth in points leaving COTA, all-but locked into the NASCAR Playoffs via his win at Phoenix earlier this month.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.