RACE: Coke Zero Sugar 400
TRACK: Daytona International Speedway
START: 23rd
FINISH: 13th
LAPS: 160 laps

Strong Run Halted by Contact on Final Lap Resulting in a 13th-Place Finish for Bell at Daytona

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50)

• Christopher Bell started 23rd at Daytona International Speedway for the last race of the regular season for the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Bell drafted his way up to 11th by the competition caution on lap 20. The No. 95 Rheem-Johns Manville Toyota Camry started off handling well, so under the caution Bell came down pit road for left-side tires and fuel.
• The No. 95 restarted 15th and raced his way up to sixth to finish stage one at Daytona.
• At the stage break Bell pitted for right-side tires and fuel.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-100)

• Bell started first and finished 10th in stage two.
• Bell led the field to the green flag to start stage two.
• While running second on lap 67 Bell made a green flag pit stop with a fellow Toyota teammate for fuel only.
• Different manufacturers pitted at different times and Bell rode around single file with a small pack and steadily made gains on the lead pack.
• Just before the end of stage two they caught the lead pack and Bell was able to draft his way to 10th to close out the stage.
• Bell pitted at the stage break for four tires and fuel.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 105-)

• Bell started stage three 10th and crossed the finish line 13th.
• The Toyota brigade came down pit road for their final round of green flag pit stops on lap 127. Bell received fuel only and by lap 135 was running back inside the top 10.
• The race remained calm until less than 10 laps remaining. The first multi car accident unfolded on lap 152 and with extensive cleanup NASCAR issued a red flag.
• Bell avoided the accident and took the green flag seventh with six laps remaining.
• Another multi car accident happened with two laps remaining, setting up the field for a green-white-checkered finish.
• Bell took the final restart fifth and raced his way up to second before losing some ground in the middle lane.
• Aggressive driving led to some accidents on the final lap, but NASCAR allowed the field to race back to the checkered flag.
• The No. 95 received some contact which cut down the right front tire. Bell was able to continue on to cross the finish line 13th at Daytona.

Up Next:The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, September 29th at 6:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN.