Crew chief Adam Stevens had no second ideas in regards to the choice to pit Christopher Bell for slick tires late Sunday in Chicago, which took his driver from the result in mid-pack.
Bell pitted for the ultimate time on lap 43, which was two laps earlier than the tip of the second stage. The choice was made to place slick (dry) tires on the No. 20 Toyota Camry, considering they’d prevail over the moist climate tires another groups elected for. It might need been the profitable name for Bell to drive again to the entrance, however Stevens didn’t plan to be hit off Flip 2 by their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr.
The contact got here on lap 55 when there have been lower than two minutes and 30 seconds left within the occasion. Bell went from battling for the fifth place to a Thirty seventh-place end with a wrecked race automobile.
“We felt just like the observe was drying at a fairly excessive charge and with a identified warning coming of the stage [break] that after the stage you’d need slicks,” Stevens stated. “So, with a warning coming, we needed to leap it as a result of everybody may come on the stage [break], and also you’d be behind all of them. And we noticed a bunch of them pit with three [laps] to go, and that sort of compelled our hand with two to go being the chief.
“We actually felt such as you have been going to should have slicks to win the race. The 2 issues that damage us have been that warning that lower down inexperienced flag laps for us to run and clearly, if the entire race runs below warning, which was a chance, then you definitely’re not going to win. If it runs inexperienced, we’re in all probability going to win. Even when we bought by way of that little skirmish there with out wrecking our suspension, we have been early forward of the 45 (Tyler Reddick) and the 54 (Ty Gibbs). So, we wanted two issues to go fallacious to not win — they usually each went fallacious.”
The ultimate warning that ate up the clock occurred with 11 minutes and 26 seconds left within the race. There have been 4 and a half minutes left within the race when it restarted for the ultimate time. Bell was ninth on the restart and had made it to the highest 5 when the race-ending collision occurred.
Truex got here by way of Flip 2 extensive and appeared off form across the time there might need been contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It moved Truex to the best, the place he hit the motive force’s facet door or Bell’s automobile, sending his teammate towards the wall nose-first. Bells’ automobile hit the wall and was additionally struck by an on-coming Carson Hocevar.
“If we keep [out], possibly 12 or 13 automobiles don’t keep … possibly it’s solely 5 automobiles after which we’re toast,” Stevens stated. “Absolute toast. So, you don’t know the way it might have occurred if we stayed [out]. But when it occurred the way in which that it occurred, we in all probability would have received.
“Except we didn’t get that warning. Then we’d have been within the reverse scenario that we have been virtually in. I felt like we performed it the perfect we may, and we simply made contact there.”
Bell led 14 laps. For the second consecutive yr in Chicago, he was able to win the race earlier than a late-race improvement. A yr in the past, Bell was main and shortly after making his remaining pit cease, NASCAR introduced the race can be lower quick due to darkness. The timing of when NASCAR made the decision modified the pit technique, permitting others to remain out longer (having pitted earlier than Bell) and flip the leaderboard.
“This one stings otherwise as a result of there wasn’t the rest we may do,” Stevens stated. “It simply got here right down to circumstance. The final one was fully avoidable, similar to the scenario we had tonight. So, this one stings otherwise, however they sting simply as a lot.”
Bell declined interviews after the race.
