The last time Christopher Bell raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he finished third in points with eight wins in 2019. Two years later, he made his return to the series in dominating fashion as he led 151 of 200 laps in Saturday’s Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway en route to the win.
Bell started fourteenth while Kaulig Racing drivers Jeb Burton and Justin Haley comprised the front row. The first half of the opening stage was a Kaulig affair as Burton led sixteen laps before being passed by team-mate A.J. Allmendinger, who enjoyed his time in front through a pair of cautions for a competition yellow and a multi-car accident that took out Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing ally Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, and Riley Herbst. Bell took the lead with two laps before the segment end to win the stage ahed of Allmendinger, Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier, Haley, Burton, Josh Berry, and Jeremy Clements.
Brandon Brown and Allmendinger led laps between stages as teams made stops. However, Bell would lead flag-to-flag as Stage #2 ran fully green. Cindric, Hemric, Allmendinger, Allgaier, Haley, Berry, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, and Jeb Burton rounded out the order.
Bell’s reign continued as he continued to lead the final stage. The lone incident of the segment came for Patrick Emerling‘s right-front tyre going down and sending him into the turn four wall. At the front, Bell led the rest of the way to win his seventeenth career Xfinity race and third consecutive at Loudon. Since 2008, JGR has won at New Hampshire eleven times.
The Cup Series sophomore led 146 consecutive laps from lap 55 to the checkered flag, the longest such run of 2021 and the most in an Xfinity race since Bell led 153, also at Loudon in 2019.
“I think these weekends with no practice and qualifying, you’re not sitting in the car until they drop the green flag,” said Bell. He will start ninth in Sunday’s Cup race. “This is a really big advantage, especially coming here: the Xfinity Series rules package is really similar to the Cup Series rules package. Hopefully, it will be pretty similar and I hope that we have a really fast Camry tomorrow. Just really proud to be at Joe Gibbs Racing. Everyone here does an amazing job.”
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 14 | 54 | Christopher Bell* | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 13 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 4 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 10 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 2 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 16 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 21 | 1 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 7 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 12 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 1 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 12 | 6 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 13 | 11 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 200 | Running |
| 14 | 3 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 15 | 8 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 16 | 32 | 26 | Brandon Gdovic | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 200 | Running |
| 17 | 22 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | Running |
| 18 | 18 | 48 | Jade Buford | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | Running |
| 19 | 34 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | Running |
| 20 | 38 | 66 | David Starr | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 198 | Running |
| 21 | 17 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 22 | 20 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 23 | 36 | 17 | J.J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 197 | Running |
| 24 | 30 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 25 | 31 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 26 | 26 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 27 | 37 | 90 | Dexter Bean | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | Running |
| 28 | 28 | 78 | Jesse Little | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 197 | Running |
| 29 | 19 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 30 | 25 | 15 | Colby Howard | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 31 | 24 | 23 | Patrick Emerling | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | Running |
| 32 | 27 | 5 | Matt Mills | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 195 | Running |
| 33 | 40 | 52 | Spencer Boyd* | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 34 | 33 | 31 | Jordan Anderson* | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | Running |
| 35 | 35 | 74 | Dawsom Cram* | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 184 | Running |
| 36 | 15 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 174 | Running |
| 37 | 39 | 61 | C.J. McLaughlin* | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 164 | Electrical |
| 38 | 23 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 102 | Radiator |
| 39 | 9 | 8 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28 | Accident |
| 40 | 29 | 99 | Mason Massey | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 26 | Accident |
* – Ineligible for Xfinity points