Bell took the lead with 15 laps to go and held off Ryan Blaney at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch a spot in next month’s championship finale. The penultimate race in the NASCAR season is this Sunday at Martinsville, the final chance for drivers in the round of eight to punch their tickets to the final four.
Bell and Kyle Larson are the only drivers locked into the Championship 4 with one race left for six drivers to vie for two spots.
Bell led only 26 of 267 laps in a chaotic race that featured 25 lead changes. ... Three playoff drivers — Larson, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. — did not finish.
William Byron is third in the standings, 30 points clear of the top-four cutoff, and race runner-up Blaney is 10 points clear. Tyler Reddick is fifth, Truex and Hamlin are both 17 points back and Chris Buescher is 43 points off the pace.
Bell is the defending race winner at Martinsville. Practice and qualifying is at 11:30 am Saturday and race time is 1 pm Sunday afternoon.
Sam Mayer held off Riley Herbst and became the first driver to claim a spot in the championship finale with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the XFinity Series.
The victory was Mayer’s fourth of the season, all in the last 12 races, and first on an oval.
John Hunter Nemechek is second in the standings, 44 points above the cutline, with Cole Custer and Austin Hill each 13 points clear. Justin Allgaier is within three points of Custer and Hill with one race remaining to earn a berth in the championship 4 while Sammy Smith (49 back), Chandler Smith (54 back) and Sheldon Creed (65 back) all need to win to advance.
Practice and qualifying is 4 pm Friday afternoon. Race time is 2:30 pm Saturday afternoon.
The Craftsman Truck Series final four is seet. Carson Hocevar earned his fourth career victory — all this season — and first NASCAR Truck Series Championship appearance with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He joins regular-season champion Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes in the Championship 4.
The series heads to Phoenix next weekend for its championship race.
