NASCAR sends Christopher Bell, 4 more drivers to the rear for unapproved adjustments at Las Vegas

There will be five drivers going to the rear for today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas. That includes Christopher Bell and the 20 team. Bell won’t be lonely with a group of drivers joining him.

NASCAR has sent Ryan Blaney, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Christopher Bell to the rear. Blaney had to have extensive repairs to his car after wrecking in practice.

Toby Christie of Racing America and TobyChristie.com reported the list of names going to the rear. Should add an extra wrinkle for drivers like Blaney and Bell who believe they can win this race.

A total of five drivers will go to the rear due to unapproved adjustments to their cars: Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek (Backstreet's (to the) Back), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Today's #Pennzoil400 is set to go green at approximately 3:43 PM ET.

— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) March 16, 2025

Michael McDowell had to change the cooling unit for his coolsuit. That is the system that pumps cool water around the driver’s body to help with overheating during races. However, those systems often fail.

McDowell’s team is allowed to change that without penalty. So, the No. 71 car will not fall to the rear. McDowell is still on the pole for today.

So far this season, only William Byron and Christopher Bell have won races. That means the rest of the field is hungry and hoping to break through and join that pair. Joey Logano starts on the front row, he’s won at this track recently.

There are so many fast drivers throughout the field. We should see comers and goers early in the race. Perhaps we will see a few surprise performances, too.

Christopher Bell searching for fourth straight win

I think that this is a setback. But it isn’t the worst thing that could happen to this No. 20 team. We will see how fast Bell is able to move up through the field. If he hasn’t made substantial gains by the end of the first stage, his hopes to win will likely be all but gone.

We have seen drivers like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell move up through the field on these intermediate tracks. The car has to be capable of doing it, though.

During his media availability Friday afternoon, Bell was asked about Jimmie Johnson and the win streak. He is trying to be the first since 2007 to match Johnson’s four straight wins. The Legacy Motor Club owner has messaged Bell after all three of his wins this season.

“So, it’s still the coolest thing in the world to me that I have Jimmie Johnson in my phone, and he has [reached out],” Bell said. “He has talked to me, he has sent me a text message after every win so far, and it is just, I’m still shocked every time I see his name pop up. I respect the heck out of him and just, it’s an honor to know that he thinks of me after the race to shoot me a text message. That’s so cool. So, yeah, he has, we have connected, yes.”