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Christopher Bell finished third in his maiden Daytona 500 after contending for the win in three overtime restarts. Travis Pastrana, the extreme sports star, finished 11th in his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the "Great American Race."
Rewind to the penultimate lap of the inaugural Bluegreen Vacations Dual race on Thursday (February 16) evening, and Bell was the first driver to make a move. While his Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace was pushing him, he was naturally more aggressive and lost by a few feet to Joey Logano.
Throughout the week at Daytona International Raceway, Christopher Bell seemed at ease with his car. Despite posting the 21st fastest time in single-car qualifying, his No. 20 Toyota appeared to be the fastest of the Toyotas.
Christopher Bell was strong early in Sunday's Daytona 500, becoming the first non-Hendrick Motorsports car to lead a lap after 13 laps in. During pit stops, he fell to 26th at the end of the first stage. He finished 10th with a solitary stage point at the end of the second stage.
During the final stages, Christopher Bell escaped the late-race drama and moved into position for the win. He was third of three dirt racers at the head of the field on the last restart, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson sharing the front row.
Christopher Bell clung behind Stenhouse's back bumper for the final two circuits. After Larson spun sideways on the final lap, he was third when the yellow flag waved.
During the post-race interview, Christopher Bell shared his experience. He said:
“If you would have told me pre-race that I was going to run third, I would have jumped up and down and been smiling ear-to-ear. I’m very happy. I’m very, very thankful that I could get this Rheem and DeWalt Toyota Camry a good solid finish, but just so close to a crown jewel."
"I feel like if it would have stayed green, I would have been on offense – but who knows. I’m very proud and thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. I’m happy for Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). That’s really cool. I’m very happy for him.”
He commented on the final few laps of the race:
“I don’t know. I’m very thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing driving this Rheem, DeWalt Camry. I hate superspeedway racing. It has been my Achilles heel for a number of years now, so just running third at the Daytona 500 is a really big deal, and I’m sure tomorrow I will be really happy."
"But right now, I’m just bummed because I feel like we were in position there, but overall – I’m really happy for Ricky (Stenhouse, Jr.). He’s won multiple speedway races and been very close at others. Happy for him and can’t wait to go to Auto Club.”
Christopher Bell shared a heartfelt message on his social media after finishing third in the Daytona 500
At the age of 28, Christopher Bell finished third in his first Daytona 500. After the celebrations were over, he took to social media to send a heartfelt thank you to his team.
