Christopher Bell wins NASCAR Cup Series Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Christopher Bell, no stranger to success on dirt tracks, took control of the Bristol Dirt Race in the final stage and scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season Sunday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bell’s team decided to stay on track during the pit session after the race’s second stage, putting him in position to control the race at the front during the final stage. Although he was under pressure occasionally, he built a comfortable lead and held off challengers after a late-race caution flag.

Bell, who led the final 100 laps, won the race under caution as a yellow flew on the white-flag lap. Tyler Reddick was in the shadow of Bell’s car on the last lap and finished second, followed by Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Briscoe.

Reddick was in position to challenge Bell for the win on the final lap, but his charge was blunted by Ross Chastain hitting the wall and forcing NASCAR to throw the caution flag, freezing the field and putting Bell in Victory Lane.

Bell said the decision to skip pitting before the final stage was the key to the win.

“We clearly were not the best car, but Adam (Stevens, crew chief) kept asking me what I needed and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if you’re going to be able to help me enough on a pit stop adjustment to get me where I need to be.’ I just said, ‘Let’s stay out,’ and he believed in me and we were able to make it work.”

The track surface befuddled drivers much of the evening as spins, slides and multi-car crashes led to a string of caution flags. The surface changed markedly during the course of the race, leading drivers to search for the fastest groove for their cars. The late-race leaders ran near (or into) the outside wall trying to keep their speeds up.

Pole