Bell was vying for the final spot in the Championship 4 when he got loose into Turn 3 and slid up into the wall as he passed 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was penalised for riding the wall and dropped from 18th to 22nd.
As a result, Bell dropped from fourth to fifth.
We looked at the data. We looked at video. We’ve been very clear, based off our conversations with our industry, based off that move two years ago, that that would not be tolerated.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said there was unanimous agreement after the Chastain incident that wall riding wouldn’t be accepted.
“If you go back a couple of years ago now when we had the situation with the #1 car on the last lap riding the wall, we met with the industry, we met with the drivers, and everyone decided that was not something we could tolerate,” said Sawyer.
“We didn’t want that move to be accepted. We had language in the rule book. It is a safety violation and when we saw the #20 [riding the wall] that’s exactly where we went. We looked at it a couple different times just to make sure and that was the call.”
It was noted that Bell’s incident was not by design, in so much that he made a mistake that led to him getting up into the wall.
Ultimately, Sawyer believed the safety element trumped whether it was accidental or purpose.
“It’s two different situations,” said Sawyer.
“I think they’re very similar in the fact that we had two cars that rode the wall, was in the gas, and when you look at it, it is a safety violation.
“That’s to protect our competitors as well as our fans.”
Should Christopher Bell race for the NASCAR Championship?
Watch this move on the final lap. pic.twitter.com/3A3BrNe0fd
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 3, 2024
NASCAR took nearly 30 minutes after the chequered flag to come to the conclusion that Bell needed to be penalised.
“We want to get it right, first and foremost,” said Sawyer when asked why it took so long.
“This is not something that happens every week. We want to be prepared.
“I thought our team in the tower did exactly what we needed to do. Let’s get this right.
“Fortunately, we don’t have it every week. It is something that we’ll go back and figure out if we could have made that decision faster, for sure.”
Discussion about this post