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Christopher Bell explains stunning decision to stop in Chase Briscoe’s pit box at Las Vegas

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•03/16/25•

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Christopher Bell Las Vegas
Mar 16, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell (20) during the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Christopher Bell surprised everyone when he stopped at Chase Briscoe‘s pit box during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After Sunday’s race, Bell spoke to reporters about the incident and why he did it.

“I didn’t know if whenever I got to any of the teammate’s box, I didn’t know one, where they were, and then if two, if there was going to be a car in it or not,” Bell said, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I saw the 19 (Briscoe) out the corner of my eye. I was pointing like, ‘I’m getting left. I’m getting left.’ Obviously, guys are coming out of their box. Fortunately, he wasn’t in there. I guess he was a couple of laps down at that point. Everyone gave way for me to get left and get into his box. I don’t know how much it helped, though, because I still had to go to the back. At least we didn’t lose a wheel.”

Ultimately, it was Bell’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, who told Bell to stop at Briscoe’s pit box. Bell had a loose left front wheel and had the No. 19 team tighten it to avoid a two-lap penalty. But NASCAR hit Bell with a penalty, anyway, since he pitted outside the box.

Christopher Bell misses out on winning fourth consecutive race

Bell was looking to win his fourth consecutive race on Sunday. He finished 13th, which is not too bad considering he was near the rear to start the race after the team made an unapproved adjustment on Saturday night.

“It was just a bummer, Bell said when asked about his day. “I thought that the performance in the car wasn’t what held us back. Certainly, we got in position there in Stage 2 before the pit road mishap. I struggled on restarts when I was in the back of the pack, and you’re working on your car to get it to turn better with no downforce on it.

“Whenever I got cycled back up front, I was just real loose at the end. I feel like if we didn’t have the pit road mishap, we would have been in contention and would have had a shot at it, but just going to the back to the front so many times, we just didn’t have it.”