If you listen closely, you can probably hear a collective gulp in the throats of the other 11 drivers who are vying for the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Christopher Bell didn’t just take his seventh victory of the season Friday night in the GoBowling.com 250, he utterly outclassed the entire field.
Bell led 238 of the 250 laps in Friday night’s race, he swept both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and then put the field away for the overall race win.
Cole Custer looked to be the guy who had the best shot at possibly stealing the win away from Bell, but down the long final stretch of the race, Custer couldn’t even hang on to second.
Austin Cindric, who started from the pole, took the runner-up spot, while Custer faded to third.
Justin Allgaier rebounded from starting from the rear after a tire change before the race to finish fourth and Chase Briscoe finished fifth.
Harrison Burton impressed in another part-time effort in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 machine as he came home sixth.
Noah Gragson, Zane Smith, Michael Annett and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race.
All of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff drivers ended this first Playoff race inside the top-17 of the final finishing order.
Post-Race Stat Pack:
