Christopher Bell needed a walk-off victory at Martinsville Speedway to secure a spot in the Championship Four and came through in the clutch – as did Ross Chastain.
Bell secured a spot in next week’s championship finale with a first-place finish at the Xfinity 500, holding off Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Chastain on Sunday. Bell previously snuck into the Round of 8 with a win at the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this month.
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Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 30, 2022, in Martinsville, Virginia.
(Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
It was Bell’s third win of the season and put him in a prime position to capture his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Chastain also catapulted himself into contention for a NASCAR title.
On the final lap of the race, Chastain used a video-game move and put himself into the wall and put his foot on the gas pedal to speed around and somehow pass Denny Hamlin to secure the fifth-place finish and a spot in the Championship Four field as well.
TENSE XFINITY SERIES RACE ENDS WITH TWO DRIVERS FIGHTING IN PIT LANE
Hamlin won Stage 1 and Stage 2, leading 140 of the first 260 laps of the race.
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, pits during the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 30, 2022, in Martinsville, Virginia.
(Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
The move stunned social media.
Chastain later said he took the move from the game NASCAR 2005.
“Played a lot of NASCAR 2005 on the GameCube. I never knew if it actually worked. I did that when I was 8. I grabbed fifth gear down the back and full committed,” he told PRN.
Bell joined Joey Logano with automatic bids into the final race of the season at Phoenix Raceway next week. Logano had won at Las Vegas and punched his ticket into the pivotal race.
Chase Elliott joined both competitors as he finished in 11th place.
Ross Chastain waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 30, 2022, in Martinsville, Virginia.
(Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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The championship race will start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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