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Christopher Bell gets loud with Loudon win
It is an understatement to describe Christopher Bell as being quite good at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He has scored top-ten finishes in all but one of his eight national series starts there, while also winning five times including Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event.
Bell and his Toyota allies dominated the Ambetter 301 as he, Martin Truex Jr., and Kurt Busch combined to lead 254 of 301 laps. Although Truex was the favourite throughout with 172 laps led and winning the first two stages, a late two-tyre pit stop ultimately dropped him barely out of top ten range and he spent the final 100 laps trying to climb back up the order, eventually settline for fourth.
“Just put on two tyres and got in a bad spot on the restart,” explained Truex. “I got put three-wide and the #22 (Joey Logano) didn’t get going and I was on the inside behind him. I tried to shove him to get him going and get us going and (Kevin) Harvick made it three-wide and put us in a bad spot. And just my car was terrible on two tires and couldn’t go anywhere. Just should have put four tyres on, I guess.”
With Truex out of the picture, Bell battled with Chase Elliott before taking the lead on lap 260 and holding it for the final forty-two circuits. The win is Bell’s second in the Cup Series and adds to an impressive Loudon résumé; he led 146 of 200 laps in last year’s Xfinity Series race at the track en route to the win, making him three-for-three in Xfinity victories there.
“That one was much needed right there,” Bell said in his post-race interview with NBC Sports. “That was a hell of a race from my viewpoint. That was so much fun racing with the #45 (Busch), the #22 (Logano), and the #9 (Elliott). We were all running different lines. That was a blast.
“[…] I was talking to my best friend and I told him, earlier in the year, I felt like we were right on the verge of winning, and then the last couple weeks, I felt like we were pretty far away, but here we are today.”
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 301 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 301 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 301 | Running |
| 4 | 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 301 | Running |
| 5 | 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 301 | Running |
| 6 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 301 | Running |
| 7 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 301 | Running |
| 8 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 301 | Running |
| 9 | 19 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 301 | Running |
| 10 | 3 | 45 | Kurt Busch | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 301 | Running |
| 11 | 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 301 | Running |
| 12 | 17 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 301 | Running |
| 13 | 28 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 301 | Running |
| 14 | 8 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 15 | 29 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 16 | 20 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger* | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 17 | 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 18 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 19 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 20 | 25 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 21 | 13 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 22 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 23 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | Running |
| 24 | 12 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 25 | 26 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 26 | 31 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 27 | 23 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 300 | Running |
| 28 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 299 | Running |
| 29 | 33 | 15 | J.J. Yeley* | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 299 | Running |
| 30 | 36 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 297 | Running |
| 31 | 7 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 282 | Running |
| 32 | 21 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 88 | Accident |
| 33 | 35 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | Accident |
| 34 | 34 | 77 | Josh Bilicki* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | Accident |
| 35 | 27 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 | Accident |
| 36 | 32 | 78 | B.J. McLeod* | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 4 | Accident |
* – Ineligible for points
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