“Let it be known”: Christopher Bell speaks out after unfortunate Mexico race ending
Christopher Bell was running strong in the Xfinity Series race at Mexico City before engine troubles ended his day. Competing for Sam Hunt Racing, Bell reflected on a 'bummer' of an exit for a car he considered 'the best of the rest'.
Bell began Saturday's The Chilango 150 in third position, and near the end of Stage 1, he lost his rear and backed into the wall as he exited the stadium section of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit. Although he dropped down the order, Bell chased down the field to get back among the frontrunners, and at one point, he passed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs to claim second.
However, the Oklahoma native's No. 24 Toyota started smoking heavily early into the third stage, causing him to roll down the pit lane and eventually retire from the race. His crew chief, Brian Gainey, went on the team radio and apologized to Bell for the unfortunate end.
During a post-race interview, Bell revealed whether there was any indication of the engine trouble.
"No, and let it be known, that I didn’t miss a shift with the h-pattern (laughter). I don’t know—it just let go getting into the stadium section, so it is a bummer. It was obviously going to be a really good run for the Sam Hunt Racing group. I thought our Mobil 1 Supra did some things really well, and some things it needed to be a little bit better. Clearly the 19 (Ty Gibbs) and the 88 (Connor Zilisch) are the class of the field but seemed like we were really the best of the rest,” Christopher Bell said via Speedway Digest.
Here's a clip of his retirement shared by NASCAR via YouTube:
Christopher Bell was marked dead last in a 39-car field, while his Cup Series rival Daniel Suarez went on to notch a historic win on home turf.
"Nobody knows": Christopher Bell comments about the effect of high-altitude conditions in the Mexico City race
Christopher Bell shared his thoughts on the possible effect of high-altitude conditions for the Mexico City race on Sunday, June 15. The Joe Gibbs driver claimed that no driver has a clear answer for it, except veterans like Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, who'd raced before at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Mexico City sits at an altitude of 7,500 feet above sea level. The thinner air makes it tough to cool down engines while drivers struggle for oxygen, which can be quite unforgiving when racing at the limits.
Reflecting upon the same, Bell spoke to Claire B. Lang and said,
"The answer is nobody knows. I don't know how anybody could say that the altitude would or wouldn't affect us, except for the veterans, like Kyle Busch and Denny have run there at the past. They would be the best gauges of it."
Christopher Bell had a tough outing during Saturday's qualifying for the Viva Mexico 250. He placed among the backmarkers at 31st, while Kyle Busch finished one spot shy of the top 10.