Christopher Bell slams Xfinity Series chaos at Martinsville: 'It was a disgrace for our sport'

The ending of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday drew serious scrutiny from some racing veterans. Well, not just the ending.

The entire race on Saturday night was fraught with questionable driving and a whole lot of unnecessary contact. Broadcaster Mike Joy went as far as to call the race a “dumpster fire.”

Cup Series driver Christopher Bell, who isn’t that far removed from his Xfinity Series driving days, chimed in on the mayhem following the Cook Out 400 over the weekend. He had a lot to say.

“I mean yesterday was absolutely infuriating. My blood was boiling inside the motorhome watching it,” Bell told journalist Claire B. Lang. “It was a disgrace for our sport. That should not be tolerated. Not just the last lap, but the whole thing. We’ve got to hold ourselves to better standards than that. That was embarrassing.”

So what happened exactly? Well, the most egregious contact came in overtime of the Xfinity Series race.

Sammy Smith cleared out Taylor Gray from behind going into Turn 3, causing Gray to spin. That also ended up ruining Smith’s chance to win, as he got caught up in the wash.

Instead, Austin Hill slipped by for the win. But the carnage that unfolded behind the start/finish line was considerable.

“I don’t know. Something has to be done,” Bell said. “I think I said on the podium at COTA and said hopefully this is a step in the right direction, and the Cup races have been good. They’ve been really good and fair and clean. But yeah, yesterday was absolutely embarrassing. Something needs to be done. I don’t know where it starts probably in NASCAR. Yeah, that was bad.”

Bell was asked whether veteran drivers in the Cup Series might feel compelled to go down to pit road after races like the Xfinity Series disaster. They could give advice to younger drivers.

He wasn’t fully sold on that idea, though he knows change is needed. For the good of the sport.

“I mean it never crossed my mind to go down to pit road after the last race and talk to whoever the driver was,” Bell said. “But yeah, I mean hopefully we can lead by example in the Cup Series. This year we’ve had really good races. Yeah, I mean, the kids, they’ve got to be better at that.”