“It’s feeling really good.” Christopher Bell’s words after winning the second All-Star heat race should have been a warning for Joey Logano. The heat race witnessed the competition caution called during lap 31, when Bell made a two-tire pit stop. That was all the difference it made for him to beat Logano by 2.085 seconds and score the front-row spot.
An eerily similar situation unfolded during the final All-Star Race. As a result of that, Christopher Bell’s wallet became heavier and Joey Logano’s tempers flared – not at Bell, but at NASCAR.
Christopher Bell unlocks glory via NASCAR’s innovation
Well, the 2025 All-Star Race was set up for a unique event anyway. NASCAR implemented the ‘competition caution’, wherein Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Marcus Smith would throw a phantom caution. The race witnessed a number of natural caution flags anyway, ranging from Daniel Suarez cutting his right-front tire to Ross Chastain spinning off Turn 2. However, Smith threw his flag on lap 101, right when Joey Logano was leading. That lent Christopher Bell his window of opportunity to exercise his Heat Race strategy. Taking only two tires, Bell left pit road first. In the meantime, Logano did not pit at all and ended up trailing his rival. That was when Bell set his stage for the final victory.
What followed was a series of lead exchanges between the two, but ultimately, Christopher Bell came out as the final leader. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver bested the defending All-Star Race winner by 0.829 seconds. A million dollars richer, Bell roared into the microphone in an interview with Fox Sports: “North Wilkesboro, how about that one!!” He continued, “That right there is absolutely incredible. North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule!”
“NORTH WILKESBORO – BEST SHORT TRACK ON THE SCHEDULE.”- Christopher Bell after his All-Star win pic.twitter.com/W1Hl8nfIDA
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 19, 2025
Meanwhile, however, Joey Logano delivered a visibly irate interview after the race. The Team Penske driver said he was feeling “really p—ed off” due to his slim defeat to Christopher Bell. What is more, he pointedly accused Marcus Smith of throwing the caution at a disadvantageous moment for him. Logano said, “Yeah. I’m all about no gimmicks with the cautions. I’m a little … me and @MarcusSMI
aren’t seeing eye-to-eye right now, okay? (laughter) I gotta have a word with him.”
Well, instead of a Cup driver brawl, we are witnessing a scuffle between a NASCAR executive and a driver this time. Stay tuned for more updates!
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