Bell races to first Xfinity Series win

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Christopher Bell raced to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday, beating dominant Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones after they made contract with four laps left at Kansas Speedway.

Bell led for just those four laps, hanging in second place behind Jones for much of the race before sliding in front of him shortly before the collision. After watching his teammate control the race for so long, the finish came as a surprise for Bell.

“I didn't think winning was a possibility,” Bell said.

Jones led 186 laps of 200 laps, and won both of the first two stages. He failed to finish the race.

Jones had drifted to the top of the track before Bell attempted to slide past him underneath. Bell said after the race that he felt he was clear. Jones disagreed.

“It's not dirt racing, you know,” Jones said. “He's not clear. I can't just stop on the top.”

While Jones was initially excited for the race to come down to the wire against a teammate, he was very disappointed in how the race finished as he felt they didn't truly get to compete for the win.

“I thought we were going to race for the win and unfortunately it wasn't much of a race,” Jones said. “It was more of a wreck.”

Despite his frustrations, though, he knows that unfortunate endings like this one happen, and not to dwell on it moving forward.

“That's racing,” Jones said. “It's not always going to go your way and you know it definitely didn't go our way today. We just have to come back … and do it a little bit better.”

For two teammates to be in such a tight race for first is a dicey situation in and of itself, but for one to make a move like Bell did shows the true competitive nature of the sport.

“We both want to win, and that's a product of it,” Bell said.