How Christopher Bell pulled off an improbable NASCAR playoff victory at Homestead-Miami

A week after nearly passing the winner in a second-place finish, Christopher Bell saw other drivers chasing after him during the final laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race.

On a video call with reporters earlier this week, Bell said he didn’t know what else he could have done last Sunday.

This Sunday, there was probably a lot that Bell, who finished Stage 2 in 22nd place, could have done better.

But he led the final 24 laps of a caution-littered final stage at Homestead-Miami Speedway, pulling off an improbable victory to clinch a spot in the Championship Four.

“This is better than a dream come true,” Bell told NBC in his post-race interview.

It’s the second straight year that Bell, 28, will race for the Cup Series title. He leads the Cup Series field with six poles but hadn’t recorded a win since the Bristol dirt track in April.

Kyle Larson, last week’s winner at Las Vegas whom Bell nearly passed, dominated early and eventually wrecked out after slamming into a barrier at the entrance to pit road trying to pass then-leader Ryan Blaney. Moments after the cleanup from the incident, which prompted a red flag, Denny Hamlin slammed the wall and Martin Truex Jr. had an engine problem.

Still, Bell worked through the field before those wrecks and was running in the Top 10 early in the final stage.

“Honestly, I don’t know, man, that race is a whirlwind,” Bell told NBC. “I was ready to throw the towel in there in the second stage; and I got really frustrated on the radio.”

Ryan Blaney finished second, Tyler Reddick third, William Byron fourth and AJ Allmendinger fifth.

“Really, really strong piece, just got beat a little bit there at the end,” Blaney told NBC after the race. “Proud of the effort.”

Kyle Larson crashes, prompting red flag

Larson was dominant Sunday, as he has been, before his day ended abruptly.

Larson was chasing the leader, Ryan Blaney, as both of them drove toward the pit road entrance. Blaney was moving slower than Larson, and then Larson smashed into the barrels separating Pit Road from the track, prompting the red flag.

“I hate it for Ryan more than anything,” Larson told NBC afterward. “He was doing a super good job out front and his team’s been doing a good job throughout the playoffs. That was not my intention. ... I’m upset with myself, even if he did slow down early.”

Larson is already locked into the Championship Four with his win at Las Vegas.

Truex, Hamlin move below the cut line

Martinsville Speedway is the site for the final race before the Championship Four, and two of the season-long favorites find themselves in precarious positions.

Denny Hamlin was leading the race during the final stage and made hard contact with the wall, ending his day early with a 30th-place finish.

During that caution period, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., came down pit road with an engine issue, and his race ended early, as well.

Truex, the regular season champion, now sits tied with Hamlin below the elimination line as his up-and-down playoff run continues. They are tied for sixth place, 17 points below the cut line.

Playoff standings before Martinsville