From Autoweek · Deb Williams · · 1m 30s
NASCAR Phoenix Notebook: Wallace Loses Win, Bell Closes In
Bubba Wallace loses Phoenix win after pit road penalty; Christopher Bell closes title gap.
In brief
Bubba Wallace loses Phoenix win after pit road penalty; Christopher Bell closes title gap. Bubba Wallace lost his Phoenix win due to a pit road speeding penalty, while Christopher Bell moved within five points of the NASCAR Cup championship lead with three races remaining. Originally reported by Autoweek.
Wallace's win evaporates
Bubba Wallace lost his Phoenix win after a pit road speeding penalty on lap 285.
“Our team is so good at finding all the gray areas to operate in and find our limits”
Wallace explains pit road penalty
Wallace said corner pitting is tough with low visibility and risks speeding penalties.
“Corner pitting is really, really tough to see with just the lack of visibility”
Blaney falls short of third win
Ryan Blaney fell 0.801 seconds short of his third straight Phoenix victory.
“I wish I would have found the top of (turns) three and four a little earlier”
Bell closes title gap
Christopher Bell moves within five points of NASCAR Cup championship lead with three races remaining.
“We’re right there in it. We’ve been able to qualify well and run up front in Stages”
Logano's good and bad day
Joey Logano salvaged a sixth-place finish after Ford alternator problem with 56 laps remaining.
“We gave away a win, but made up close to 50 points to the leader”
Hamlin's tire issue
Denny Hamlin lost 49 points to leader Kyle Larson after right-rear tire went flat.
“Just a corner before I felt the car bottom out”
Elliott secures top five
Chase Elliott earned third-place finish after two scuffed tires on final stop.
“I thought that maybe if we could get a couple rows of a buffer we’d be OK”
Bell's stage points
Bell recorded second-most stage points in Phoenix race with 85 laps leading.
“We’re right there in it. We’ve been able to qualify well and run up front in Stages”
Hamlin's pit road penalty
Hamlin received pit road speeding penalty after right-rear tire went flat.
“I knew at that point (I) definitely had a tire (down)”
Elliott's race strategy
Elliott held off competitors after restart with two scuffed tires.
“To settle in and be able to hold the rest of those guys off, I thought it was solid”
The bottom line
Bubba Wallace lost his Phoenix win due to a pit road speeding penalty, while Christopher Bell moved within five points of the NASCAR Cup championship lead with three races remaining.
