DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Christopher Bell won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night, opening NASCAR’s postseason Chase with a victory for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). Bell’s late pass of Kyle Larson secured his first Southern 500 crown. The result highlights JGR’s strong performance, with all four of its drivers currently in contention for the Cup Series title.
Bell, who overcame a mid-season wrist injury and seven second-place finishes, gained ground in the Chase standings, moving from 50 points behind Denny Hamlin to just 12. He attributed his success to the team’s preparation. “Our teams have hit it,” Bell said. “Yeah, we need to make the most of it now, because we know how it goes.” Ty Gibbs finished second, marking his 18th top-10 finish of the season with victories already at Bristol and Iowa. Chase Briscoe secured sixth place.
JGR has now had all four of its drivers win races this season, a feat last achieved in 2019 when Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Erik Jones combined for 19 wins and Busch secured the championship. This year, the JGR quartet has eight wins, and Toyota has claimed 15 of 27 events. Hamlin, despite finishing 18th at Darlington due to a mid-race crash, remains the Chase leader. Bell is second, Briscoe fifth, and Gibbs sixth. Tyler Reddick, driving for 23XI and also with Toyota, is fourth in the standings.
Heather Gibbs, Ty’s mother and JGR co-owner, expressed confidence in the team’s championship prospects. “I think we've worked so hard as a team and as an organization to be consistent and have four competitive cars,” she said. “Obviously points, coming, showing up every week, just as Christopher has, having all those top twos where it's criticized, and that makes a championship-caliber team to be consistent.” Bell joked about having a free week.
Read the original coverage
💬 Comments
📜 Comment Policy