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Christopher Bell chased Joey Logano down the twisty Daytona course on Sunday for his first career Cup victory and a coveted NASCAR playoff spot.
Bell won his second race behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing to give the team a pair of surprising wins at Daytona International Speedway. Ty Gibbs, the 18-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday night in his first career start in the National Series.
Bell’s victory wasn’t nearly as stunning, but he still delivered much earlier than expected upon his return to JGR. He was loaned to Leavine Family Racing last year for his rookie season, but Gibbs brought him back to JGR this year.
This gave Bell a competitive Toyota, but a win, so early, was in great demand.
“This is one of the highlights of my life,” said Bell. “I have prepared my whole life for this moment of racing in the Cup Series, last year has been such a learning curve for me. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to compete in the Cup and that m ‘definitely prepared to go to Joe Gibbs Racing. “
Bell has had a disappointing rookie season behind the wheel of Leavine with just seven top 10 finishes at Toyotas, not as strong as Gibbs’ four-car fleet. Now driving some of NASCAR’s best cars, Bell joined surprise Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell with places in the 16-driver playoff field.
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He had to chase down Logano, who had built a decent lead on the pitch but couldn’t fend off Bell once he caught him. Logano was second; last week he and his teammate Brad Keselowski crashed in the race for the Daytona 500 victory.
“I hate being so close,” Logano said.
Denny Hamlin was third to give Gibbs two cars in the top three. Kurt Busch was fourth and Keselowski was fifth for a decent rebound from Team Penske.
Chase Elliott again had the most dominant car, but his four-game winning streak in points-paying road races was broken. He led a race-high 45 laps and was in the lead when caution in the rain 15 laps from the finish forced Hendrick Motorsports to make a strategic call.
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Elliott traded his position on the track for new tires, pulled away from the lead and fell to 15th. He rose through the ranks to fifth place but circled around when he ran behind Kurt Busch’s back. Elliott finished 21st.
“Precautions like that make a mixed bag, that stays and goes, it’s kind of a gamble,” Elliott said. “I thought the tires were the right decision. But you get back into traffic and it gets so chaotic and depends on who is passing (traffic) and who is not, and that determines how it moves.”
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