NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell accused Chevy of manipulating the race at Martinsville Speedway and allowing William Byron to advance to the Championship race at Phoenix against race winner Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick.
Christopher Bell passes Bubba Wallace on the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Martinsville in November 2024.
In a post-race interview, Bell was first asked about what happened on the final lap when he got into the wall after passing Bubba Wallace, who obviously tanked his car to allow Bell to pass him so he could secure the final point he needed to tie Byron in the points and be able to advance to the championship race.
IS BELL IN OR OUT?!!
What do y’all think?
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) November 3, 2024
NASCAR penalized Bell for a “safety violation” and relegated him to 22nd place, the last car one lap down.
PENALTY: NASCAR deems the No. 20 car incurred a safety violation at @MartinsvilleSwy. He is placed in 22nd position, the last car one lap down.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 3, 2024
When asked if he felt he did anything unsafe, Bell told the media, “No. I made a mistake and I slid into the wall. And unfortunately they ruled that as a safety violation, I guess.”
He then asked the press how he lost four points and what the penalty was. After being informed of the penalty, Bell reacted, “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t advance my position into the wall. I lost time on the race track. But it’s not meant to be. That’s fine.”
Christopher Bell via Bob Pockrass on X
From there, he accused Chevy of manipulating the race by having Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon refuse to advance their position pass William Byron and instead acted as a barricade behind him preventing him from losing any spots.
Bell said, “It was clear what was going on. The 24 came back to me probably a straight away or something. It just wasn’t meant to be today. And it wasn’t meant to be this year. And we accomplished a lot this year and I’m proud of that so just keep building on it.”
When asked if the penalty was unfair, Bell said, “I’m going to keep my mouth shut.”
What Christopher Bell said about whether he violated any safety rules and whether he is bitter: pic.twitter.com/sBZTIlLE8Z
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 3, 2024
Based on NASCAR’s Section 5.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which they used to penalize Cole Custer and Stewart-Haas Racing for race manipulation back in 2022, it’s hard not to see that Chevy did indeed manipulate the race with Chastain and Dillon refusing to pass Byron.
The Section stated back in 2022:
A: NASCAR requires its Competitor(s) to race at 100 percent of their ability with the goal of achieving their best possible finishing position in the Event.
B: Any Competitor(s) who takes action with the intent to Artificially Alter the finish positions of the Event or encourages, persuades or induces others to Artificially Alter the finish positions of the Event shall be subject to a penalty from NASCAR, as specified in Section 10 Violations and Disciplinary Action.
C: “Artificially Alter” shall be defined as the actions by any Competitor(s) that show or suggest that the Competitor(s) did not race at 100 percent of their ability for the purpose of changing finishing positions in the Event, in NASCAR’s sole discretion.
Christopher Bell passes Bubba Wallace on the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Martinsville in November 2024.
What do you make of Bell’s accusation?