Christopher Bell grabbed the lead with 40 laps to go in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race and ended Chevrolet’s parade to Victory Lane, winning the Shriner’s Children 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
After Martin Truex Jr. pitted, the hard-charging Bell — who restarted 20th on the final green flag with 92 laps to go — roared through the field and became the eighth different winner in the past eight races at Phoenix.
Winning by 5.465 seconds over Chris Buescher, Bell’s No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing snapped Chevrolet’s three-race, season-opening winning streak.
It was the first win for Bell, the 29-year-old from Norman, Okla., in the Arizona desert and his seventh in 148 career starts.
Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney completed the top five in the six-caution race.
With two of the JGR cars occupying the front row, top qualifier Denny Hamlin paced the group, but teammate Gibbs, last season’s Rookie of the Year, soon led his first laps with a strong start at the 1-mile flat track.
But after settling in after five laps, Derek Kraus looped his No. 16 Chevrolet by himself, collecting the cars of Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon in the process — the latter’s third early-race wreck this season.
As the 60-lap Stage 1 neared its end, Gibbs fought off Erik Jones before Tyler Reddick arrived at his inside door on Lap 58, taking the top spot and keeping his No. 45 Toyota there for his first stage win.
Following pit stops, Hamlin took control and led until the first set of green-flag pit stops began at Lap 116 with eighth-place Blaney bringing in his No. 12 Ford first.
As the cars cycled around, Reddick raced it out with Hamlin at the front and took the lead.
Meanwhile, Gibbs had right-rear tire problems on a loose wheel and had to bring his No. 54 Toyota in to secure it.
But at the end of Stage 2, Bell moved to the point and won his first stage, as the Camrys of Bell, Reddick and Hamlin occupied the top three positions.
John Hunter Nemechek brought out the fifth caution when he got into Joey Logano’s No. 22 and spun the Ford into the wall while it was in position for the free pass.
While racing Reddick for the lead on Lap 215, Hamlin spun after light contact to fly the final caution flag.
–Field Level Media
