Christopher Bell held off Tyler Reddick for the Stage 1 win in Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, however Reddick was finally getting the high line worked in near the end of the Stage.
Reddick led the first six laps from the pole, but then dropped back to second to get debris knocked off his grille.
Once Reddick got the debris off the grille, he was unable to get back around fellow championship contender Bell.
Bell led the final 39 laps of Stage 1.
Cole Custer followed the two to the finish line in Stage 1.
John Hunter Nemechek, who is looking for his first win of 2019, took fourth place in Stage 1 and Ross Chastain rounded out the top-five.
Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton and Austin Cindric were sixth thru eighth.
Justin Allgaier, who started at the rear after an engine change, was able to work his way to ninth in Stage 1.
Jeb Burton finished 10th in Stage 1 in JR Motorsports’ No. 8 entry.
Michael Annett (11th) and Noah Gragson (13th) were the two Playoff drivers who did not score Stage Points in Stage 1.
Gragson got a little damage when Bobby Dale Earnhardt spun and backed into the wall on lap 18.
