Bell and his #20 Joe Gibbs Racing staff struggled for a lot of the race and at one level he was at risk of falling a lap down.
Nevertheless, a string of cautions within the closing 60 of 267 laps knocked a number of playoff contenders out of the race and put Bell again within the hunt for the win.
He took the lead for the primary time on a restart on lap 230, and regardless of briefly shedding it he reclaimed it from William Byron with 15 to go. Bell then held off a late cost from Ryan Blaney and edged him by 1.651 seconds to earn his second win of the 2023 season and first within the playoffs.
The victory places Bell within the closing 4 championship struggle at Phoenix in two weeks, the place he’ll be part of Kyle Larson to battle for this season’s title.
“I’ve bought the perfect staff behind me. That race was a whirlwind,” Bell stated. “I used to be able to throw the towel in there within the second stage. I bought pissed off on the radio.
“Adam [Stevens, crew chief] saved after it. The blokes again on the store had been working over the changes and gave me what I wanted. At any time when we bought some clear air, this factor was actually good.”
Picture by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Rheem / Smurfit Kappa Toyota Camry
With one race remaining to qualify for the championship 4 title struggle, the 4 drivers lowest in factors with no win and at risk of playoff elimination are Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.
It means Byron and Blaney are the best-placed drivers within the factors going into subsequent week’s Martinsville race that can resolve the ultimate two locations for the four-driver title showdown at Phoenix on 5 November.
Tyler Reddick ended up third, Byron fourth and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the highest 5.
Finishing the top-10 had been Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano – who began the race from the rear of the sector in a back-up automobile, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon.
NASCAR Cup Homestead race outcomes (267 laps)