That’s what everyone expects of a million dollar-to-win race right?
Paul Wolfe made a bold strategic decision, one that didn’t pan out for Joey Logano and their No. 22 Penske team. Logano and spotter Coleman Pressley made some bold defensive moves in the hopes that it would keep Christopher Bell behind them. Bell wasn’t going to waste any time with Logano once the rules of engagement had been established.
All told, everyone performed to the moment and North Wilkesboro Speedway largely delivered its first truly memorable on-track sequence in its third year hosting the NASCAR All-Star Race.
In the end, Bell scored a signature career victory on a night where Wilkesboro also seemingly secured its place in the future of the sport for many more years to come.
“North Wilkesboro, how about that one,” Bell said upon climbing out of his car on the frontstretch. “That right there is absolutely incredible. North Wilkesboro -- best short track on the schedule!”
First, the numbers supported the eye test after the race, in all the metrics that the industry frequently uses:
There were 59 green flag passes for the lead, which set a new All-Star Race record, across each of its venues. The 18 lead changes at the start-finish line were the most in event history. With 1,426 green flag passes, this All-Star Race was the second-best in that category behind the 2018 event. There were also eight different leaders, tied for the second most, one behind the 2002 running.
There was some good ole fashioned short track animosity after the race too.
Logano felt like Bell unnecessarily used him up the racetrack to complete the winning pass. Bell's momentum carried them both up the track and towards the wall.
“It is what it is, I don’t know,” Logano said. “He did it good enough that I couldn’t get back to him. I was going to show him what fair was but I just couldn’t get there. I just couldn’t get there with the tires.”
And then, a little bit later in the same post-race scrum:
“I’ll just race him the same way,” Logano said. “That’s all it is. Listen, we were racing for a million dollars so I get it but we race each other every week and we’re like elephants and we never forget.
Bell could only chuckle when this was brought to his attention.
“He was frustrated,” Bell asked. “That is interesting. I genuinely would not have guessed that.”
So then what Logano said was explained to him.
“Well, I had got to him a couple times before and he made it very difficult on me, as he should,” Logano said. “I got my run, and I took the moment, as I should. So yeah, I don't think that I did anything that Joey has not done, and I've seen Joey do much worse. We will continue on.”
But again, Logano was only in this position because Wolfe, his crew chief, left him out on old tires with the hopes enough teams would follow suit to create a buffer to Bell.
“There was a buffer there with (Ryan) Blaney and he never raced him,” Wolfe said. “So we had the buffer but no one raced him the way we needed. The tires had that 10-15 lap life on them and then they leveled out.
“But no one was able to hold him off long enough to give us that chance and he was just all over us. Joey drove his butt off. And he ultimately used us up to get by us but it’s the All-Star Race and it’s for a million bucks.
“I would expect it. But yeah, it’s tough.”
Before even starting this interview, Wolfe was hunched over pit road, right foot on the wall, no doubt second guessing to a degree.
It really was a last-minute decision because rounding Turns 3 and 4, Wolfe made the call in real time. This was the exchange:
"Do you feel good about keeping it with clean air?"
"I don't know."
"Stay out "
Logano didn't even have a chance to rebut, and to be fair, it's the crew chief that won him his third championship last year.
“Yeah, I said I don’t know because I didn’t know,” Logano said. “If eight cars stay out, yeah, it looks good because he doesn’t get to us. If he gets held up by a couple of cars before that, do we get him? Maybe.
“The 1 (Ross Chastain) kind of just let him go and I think I know what he was doing. He was hoping he would get to me then we would rough it up and he could sneak one by us. That was the right call but I needed Ross to do Ross things. But he just let him go.”
But in the end, Bell had a tire advantage and once he got clean air, that was that. Bell now adds the All-Star Race to a growing resume and this is amongst his favorite victories.
“It's pretty high,” Bell said. “I would say this one has to be up there with those Round of 8 wins. Those Round of 8 wins are so valuable that I don't know how you top that except for that championship event which is eluding me so far.
“But this one, it's definitely top three.”
Respecting Bell
By now, the Christopher Bell scene from the first season of the Netflix NASCAR Full Speed documentary is well known.
Approaching the championship race, the filming crew booked time with Bell and conceded that he was 'never part of their plan' before filming commenced but needed to make up for it once it became clear he would be a legitimate contender.
Due in part to an understated personality, and not a lot of stereotypical flamboyance, Bell has a way of flying under the radar.
“I'm not a flamboyant person, and so I'll probably never get the press that some of the bigger characters get,” Bell said. “But that's not me. I'm a race car driver, and that's what I do. I drive race cars, and I'm here to win races, and that's it.”
Since the first season of Full Speed aired, all Bell has done is won six more times and that doesn’t even count this first All-Star victory. He's become an industry leader, respected and valued by not only his team and peers, but the Sanctioning Body itself.
The only question is whether or not fans and those outside of the bubble are starting to take notice.
Chris Gabehart, the longtime crew chief turned Joe Gibbs Racing competition director, says his status and potential was made clear a long time ago.
“Well, I mean, whenever the rest of the industry chooses to catch up, if they haven't already, I'll tell them that they're about 10 years late,” Gabehart told The Sporting News. “I watched Christopher Bell grow up on the pavement short tracks, and got to work with him at a very young age, and if the rest of the industry doesn’t recognize him as a top two talent in the sport, and you know the other one I’m talking about, they’re not paying attention.
“So I hope they keep sleeping on him and I hope we keep racking winds up with him.”
Their boss, Coach Joe Gibbs says he feels like Bell is starting to get the respect he deserves, at least based on what he hears on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and what press he does consume over the course of any given week.
“I think everybody in the sport that knows (racing) really appreciates him,” Gibbs said. “I pretty much hear it all the time. People are picking him to win.
“I think he does and certainly has earned the respect of everyone. I think people put him in that category. He's raced all the dirt stuff with Kyle (Larson) and he's gained a lot of respect there.
“Anyway, I think he's just -- he's earned his way, I feel like, to be considered one of the best.”
For his part, Bell is starting to feel ‘part of the plan,’ in ways he didn’t on that day filing with the Netflix crew.
“I do feel that way throughout the industry,” Bell said. “All of my competitors respect me, or at least I feel respected by them. The garage members, the mechanics, the crew chiefs. I do feel well respected throughout the industry.”
A good show
The weekend started with a lot of questions about what to do about both the All-Star Race and/or North Wilkesboro Speedway.
After a generally well-regarded race on Sunday, everyone seemed to agree that Wilkesboro will continue to warrant a place on the Cup Series schedule with a plurality seemingly wanting this track to host a points race starting next season.
Brad Keselowski already famously said on Friday that his vote would be to replace the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval event with a points race at Wilkesboro -- taking the All-Star Race somewhere else.
His former teammate, Ryan Blaney largely echoed that sentiment after the race too.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I thought it just put on an okay race. I said it earlier this week that I’m fine with it either way. If you want to make this place a points race, I’m fine with it. I like what Brad K said about this being a points race and getting rid of the Roval.
“Either way, whatever they decide to do with this place, I’m fine with it.”
The enthusiasm for a points race centers around the concept that a nearly 40-car field and longer green flag runs would create lap traffic, and therefore, better racing.
"I think the All-Star Race would look a lot like this race did but with just more cars," said Alex Bowman. "I don't think it would change a lot but the track is starting to wear out more and more so that's good too."
Gabehart was the most enthusiastic about the idea.
When asked what he thought about the racing, before the question could even be finished, he said ‘so awesome’ before praising the throwback nature of NASCAR’s once again oldest race track.
“They've just done so many great things with this facility and the atmosphere is electric,” Gabehart said. “But I think most industry people will tell you, that as good as tonight was, put another 15 to 20 cars on the track and run them during the day, and that show would be absolutely bonkers.
“This is a great race track and Goodyear has made a great tire. And let me tell you, there’s still work to be done on the tire, but my gosh, let me be clear that we are leaning on Goodyear way too much to fix this problem and it’s not fair to them, but they’ve answered the bell. I mean, they're going to work and are making this thing better every chance they are asked.
“But back to the track and the show, I'm just so glad that what's old is new again and that we're starting to remember what got us here and put us back where we belong. And it's at great racetracks with great support networks like this. And I think they'd be nuts not to bring a points race here. I think it deserves it.”