NASCAR focused its review of the finish from Martinsville Speedway on Christopher Bell to determine who would be in the Championship 4 for the Cup Series title.
Bell was penalized for riding the wall on the final lap in the final corners, which eliminated him from the position. The final transfer spot went to William Byr on.
In the initial finish, Bell advanced via a tiebreaker on Byron, but it took 27 minutes for NASCAR to review the video and confirm the finish and who advanced.
“When you look at it today, he clearly got up against the fence in 3 and 4 and rode the fence all the way off 4 there,” NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said. “That’s strictly to protect our drivers and our fans. That one is pretty straightforward.”
The penalty was a safety violation. The wall ride falls under the safety violation in the NASCAR Rule Book, which was made clear in 2022 after Ross Chastain pulled off the video game move to advance in the postseason. Chastain went wide open into Turn 3 and rode the wall to the finish.
Joe Gibbs Racing executives went to the NASCAR hauler about the decision. It was approximately a 15-minute conversation in which they were told an in-race violation is not appealable.
Bell denied riding the wall intentionally. He said he made a mistake getting into Turn 3 and the car slid into the wall. However, Bell acknowledged that he knew he needed the positions and tried to get to the finish line as quickly as possible.
“I made a mistake and I slid into the wall,” Bell said. “Unfortunately, they ruled that as a safety violation. I don’t know what to say. I didn’t advance my position into the wall. I lost time on the racetrack, but it’s not meant to be.
“It’s fine.”
The only position Bell could have taken was from Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace. Bell was in the process of passing Wallace going into Turn 3 before his car slid into the wall.