“I closed my eyes and hoped I get through”: Christopher Bell reflects on surviving ‘super scary’ William Byron-Ty Dillon wreck in Las Vegas

Christopher Bell comments on nearly missing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 12. Image via Imagn.
Christopher Bell comments on nearly missing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 12. Image via Imagn

Christopher Bell managed to escape a "super scary" situation after he survived a violent hit between William Byron and Ty Dillon during Sunday's Round of 8 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Byron ran into the back of Dillon, who slowed to pit, at full speed. Bell was right behind them and barely escaped destruction. Video from onboard cameras showed how little time drivers had to react. The impact sent Byron sliding hard into the wall and out of the race, but Bell slipped between the wreckage and finished third.

During a post-race interview with Frontstretch, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver commented on the incident and shared how he tried to avoid it.

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"Yeah, the 24 [Byron] and 10 [Ty Dillon] was just super scary. ... The sun is really bad off turn four, so you can't see anything and yeah, just kind of closed my eyes and and hope that I could get through there and fortunately I did," Christopher Bell said.
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Bell had another close call less than a full pit cycle later, when a wild restart produced an 11-car melee. However, he also managed to slip through the chaotic restart that spread across the frontstretch and into turn one.

The heavy crash knocked William Byron out of contention, as he finished in 36th place. Bell turned the escapes into a solid haul of playoff points (43). He finished third behind winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up Kyle Larson.

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The 30-year-old also moved up in the playoff standings and now has a 20-point cushion above the elimination line before Talladega next weekend.

Christopher Bell shares strategy to survive 'really tough' upcoming playoff race at Talladega

During the same interview, Christopher Bell also mentioned that JGR cars have been strong all season on intermediate tracks.

"I mean clearly the JGR cars are really good but this package is done for the year now. ... The intermediate package served us well throughout the playoffs," Christopher Bell said (00:48 onwards).
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The No. 20 Toyota driver also mentioned that his goal going into Talladega will be to survive the race.

"Tallaladega, hopefully we survive and then see how we are on the short track package. ... Talladega is going to be really tough and just got to survive it. So, it'll be the same for everybody and it's going to be interesting," he added.
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Bell finished in sixth place at the 2.66-mile superspeedway last season during the playoffs. He has two other top-10 finishes in 11 career starts there, but earlier this season, his run at Talladega ended in a major crash. He was leading on a restart when JGR teammate Hamlin nudged and turned him into the inside wall in a violent impact.

Bell has a good average finish of 15.5 at the Round of 8 finale track, Martinsville, in 11 starts. He also has a win at the 0.5-mile oval in 2023.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam
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