Bad Luck Costs Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell at Phoenix
One is a former champion and one was making his first Championship 4 appearance, but Elliott and Bell had a lot in common today at Phoenix. Both drivers were in the mix at the front of the field, battling for the title when their days were ruined. Like a hard punch to the gut, both drivers saw their hopes of winning the championship go out the window.
For Elliott, it happened midway through the race on a restart. The Hendrick Motorsports driver made a move to the bottom of the racetrack, trying to fend off a pass by fellow championship contender Ross Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing driver decided not to lift, which sent Elliott spinning hard into the inside wall. The crew was miraculously able to repair the car, but he went multiple laps down and was unable to recover.
"Really proud of our team for the fight that we put in today," Elliott said. "I felt like we just kind of peaked right there before we crashed, and I felt like we got our car driving pretty good. Heck, we were right there next to the 22. I thought we had a shot at it all the way up until we didn't, and that's unfortunately the way it goes sometimes."
Bell's moment came much later, at the most critical juncture of the race. During the final round of pit stops, the rear tire changer on Bell's No. 20 Toyota got his hand stuck in the wheel and couldn't get it out. The lengthy pit stop cost Bell 11 positions on the track, and with just 33 laps remaining, there was too much ground to make up.
"It just wasn't meant to be," Bell said. "I still think the season was successful. To get to the final four is what every driver’s goals are. I’m very proud of that effort. With 40 or 50 laps to go, the last green flag pit stop, we put ourselves in a position to race for it. You can’t ask for much more than that. I'm looking forward to next year and I’m excited about the future with Joe Gibbs Racing."
Everything was on the table for these two young drivers. Elliott was hoping to win his second title and the third straight for team owner Rick Hendrick. Bell was trying to win it for Joe Gibbs Racing, who had an incredibly emotional weekend. Ty Gibbs' father Coy died this morning, less than 24 hours after his son won the Xfinity Series championship.
The championship was going to go to the driver that made the fewest mistakes. While neither driver necessarily made mistakes behind the wheel, there were circumstances that ultimately prevented them from being in a position to capitalize. Fortunately, they have plenty of years ahead of them to learn and make up for it. That is what Logano did today, making up for a sour 2020 season where he let the title slip away.
