Balance issues with his Toyota caused him to fall to 22nd after Stage 2 on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway - but Christopher Bell took advantage of a late caution in Stage 3 and stormed from behind for his second win of the season.

Bell took the lead with 15 laps to go and held off Ryan Blaney for a win that locked him into next month’s NASCAR Championship finale.

Bell, who entered the race below the playoff cutline, will compete in his second straight championship race. He beat Blaney by 1.651 seconds Sunday and only led 26 of 267 laps in a chaotic race in which three playoff drivers did not finish.

There were 25 lead changes — one fewer than the track’s record of 26 set in 2011.

Blaney, who led for 53 laps, moved above the cutline — up from seventh. Tyler Reddick and William Byron finished third and fourth and are still vying for a spot in the Nov. 5 title-deciding finale.

Six drivers will compete for the remaining two spots next week in the final race of the round of eight at Martinsville Speedway.

Kyle Larson, last year’s Homestead winner, was out of the race at Lap 214 after he slammed into the pit road barriers trying to overtake Blaney for the lead. Larson was going too fast after heading into pit lane and said he didn’t expect Blaney to slow down as early as he did.

Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet clipped the rear of Blaney’s Ford, but Blaney was able to pit as the caution flag came out and continued.

Larson had been dominating the race, in which he was a favorite to win. He led for 96 laps before Blaney nudged ahead of him late in Stage 2 for the lead. That ending is largely inconsequential for Larson as far as the playoff goes. He is already locked into the finale with his victory in the opening race of the round of eight in Las Vegas.

The crash briefly made it a race between Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who took the lead on the restart. But JJ Yeley, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain were all involved in a wreck seconds later, causing the caution flag to come out for the fifth time in the race, which ultimately gave Bell room to stage a comeback.

After the restart, Hamlin slammed into the wall on Turn 1 and radioed that something broke in the steering and sent him into the wall. He was out of the race with 32 laps to go in an unfortunate turn of events for Joe Gibbs Racing — Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr., another playoff driver, left with an engine issue moments later.

Both playoff drivers will look for a better outcome next week.

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who entered the race at eighth in the playoff field, had trouble with his No. 17 Ford from the start. Buescher was the only playoff driver Sunday without Stage 1 points, and his 21st-place finish puts him in a must-win situation next week at Martinsville.

Buescher dropped from seventh to eighth in the playoff standings entering the race after Blaney’s disqualification from the Las Vegas race was reversed. Buescher said Saturday that the reversal didn’t change much for him.

NASCAR goes to Martinsville Speedway next Sunday for the final race in the round of eight. Bell is the defending race winner.