Joe Gibbs drops four-word response to Christopher Bell's Martinsville misery
Joe Gibbs remained tight-lipped about Christopher Bell's Martinsville controversy following the JGR boss' conversation with NASCAR officials. However, during his stroll back to the garage, Gibbs expressed his disappointment with a four-word response.
The XFINITY 500 proved disastrous for Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin entered the 500-lap event below the playoff cutline and was eliminated after securing a fifth-place finish. Christopher Bell was on the verge of punching his playoff ticket and fought a fierce battle for the lead against his immediate playoff rival William Byron.
Bell was successful in his bid after his 'Hail-Melon' remake helped him overtake Bubba Wallace and take the final Championship 4 spot. However, as the battle concluded, the officials slapped the #20 JGR driver with a safety violation penalty, putting him a lap down and in P22, paving the way for Byron's Phoenix entry.
The controversial incident prompted team owner Joe Gibbs to have a word with the officials about their ruling. The conversation didn't favor JGR, as the officials didn't change their call. While heading back to the garage, Gibbs murmured something to himself and then voiced his disappointment in four words.
"They said it's over," Gibbs said via Dustin Long.
Following Martinville's fate, the best possible finish JGR could wrap its 2024 season with is a P5 and P6.
"I'm going to keep my mouth shut": Christopher Bell opens up on his Martinsville penalty
Christopher Bell's Martinsville race started to fall apart following a bad pitstop on Lap 264. The pit crew's lackluster job forced the #20 driver to return on the next lap to address the loose lug nut issue.
On Lap 370, Bell lost a lap running 19th, and stayed in the middle pack. He got a chance to jump multiple track positions during Lap 401 caution, but the surrounding traffic hindered the JGR driver's pursuit of leading the restart.
On the final lap, Bell braved a wall-ride move, surpassing Bubba Wallace and crossing the start/finish line in 18th place. It momentarily promoted the JGR driver into the Championship 4, but the safety violation snatched the spot and handed it to Byron. Bell denied making the move on purpose.
Bell opened up on his Martinsville fate and said,
"I don't know what to say. I didn't advance my position into the wall, I lost time on the racetrack but it's not meant to be and that's fine...it just wasn't meant to be today and it wasn't meant to be this year," Bell said via Dirty Mo Media.
When asked about the penalty's fairness, Bell gave a short reply and said,
"I'm going to keep my mouth shut." (0:46).
With Christopher Bell out of the playoffs, William Byron is the lone HMS driver in the upcoming title fight at Phoenix.