Christopher Bell captured the win at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the weekend, finding victory during the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600.
While the race didn’t go the full 600 miles, that’s not what Bell’s trophy will say on it. He captured one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events, and he joined the Dale Jr Download this week to speak on what was going through his mind when NASCAR called the race.
It wasn’t a guarantee NASCAR was going to name Bell the winner, as there were track-drying efforts going on, but when they finally decided to end things, Bell certainly was elated, and rightfully so.
“That was a weird one Dale, I’m not going to lie. Listen, the way that it all unfolded at the end of that race was just a wicked twist of emotion,” Bell told Earnhardt Jr. regarding the Coca-Cola 600. “Everyone kind of felt like we were racing to the rain, at least my group did. My spotter and my crew chief were communicating that to me.
“Then, all of a sudden, whenever we came down pit road, we hadn’t lost the track, so we’re like, ‘Okay, maybe we’re going to get back on track,’ and we did lose the track, and they didn’t call the race, and then it quit raining. We were like, ‘Alright, I guess we’re going to race this thing out.’ So, I never in a million years thought we were going to get cancelled after the rain stopped. They started drying the track, I thought we were in it for the long haul.”
Alas, Bell and his team deserve credit for realizing the rain was coming, and doing everything they could to get the No. 20 to the lead when it did. Still, the win left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth afterwards, even though Bell was celebratory.
NBC’s Kyle Petty even stated his belief that William Byron re-established himself as the Cup Series’ championship favorite during the Coca-Cola 600, even though it was Bell who ended up with the win.
“The Coca-Cola 600. The longest race, miles-wise, on the NASCAR circuit. A grueling test of man and machine, only we didn’t see 600 miles yesterday, Mother Nature had a different plan,” Petty started. “The most exciting thing we saw yesterday was William Byron’s pass in the grass. … I think William Byron reasserted himself as the championship favorite.”
Regardless, Christopher Bell has the trophy, and he’ll go down in the record books as a winner of the Coca-Cola 600. He’s truly establishing himself as one of the best in the NASCAR Cup Series, and that’s not going to change, rain or shine.
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