Christopher Bell remains undefeated with his fourth consecutive victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in New Hampshire

LOUDON, NH (AP) — Christopher Bell took advantage of a three-lane passing maneuver on the final lap to pull away and win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the fourth straight year on Saturday.

Bell, 29, needed three extra laps around the 1.058-mile track but remained undefeated in the Xfinity Series at New Hampshire and picked up another victory for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 Toyota. The 20-man team behind crew chief Tyler Allen has won four times this season with four drivers: John Hunter Nemechek, Aric Almirola, Ryan Truex and Bell.

“When I got down the front straight three places inside, I felt like I was in the position I wanted to be in to win the race,” Bell said.

Bell led 43 of 203 laps and added that checkered flag to his collection of Xfinity wins at New Hampshire in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Sheldon Creed finished second and Cole Custer third. Both drivers were caught in Bell’s thrilling overtaking maneuver and both drivers narrowly managed to keep Bell out of victory lane.

“I feel so sorry for Sheldon,” Bell said. “He was really, really close to winning these things.”

Creed has two second-place finishes this season and 10 overall in the Xfinity Series without a win in 86 career races. He is tied with Dale Jarrett and Daniel Hemric for most second-place finishes before a win.

“I’m running out of options to get rid of these things,” Creed said.

Bell and Custer ensured that the headlines remained limited to the racetrack.

Bell blurted out: Chase Briscoe should go Stewart-Haas Racing, which will close at the end of the season, will switch to Joe Gibs Racing in 2025. Briscoe is scheduled to drive the No. 19 Toyota for JGR.

“I’ve definitely stayed away from social media,” Bell said.

Custer lost his Cup spot with SHR after the 2022 season and drove for the team’s Xfinity program for the past two years. He won the series championship last season and leads the points standings this season by 15 points over Chandler Smith.

“I felt like we had it made,” Custer said. “We had the best car all day and to have it ripped away from us with one lap to go is just heartbreaking.”

Custer, who led 114 laps in New Hampshire, could return to Cup next season.

SHR co-owner Gene Haas announced this week that he will stay in the Cup Series and field a car in 2025. Haas will retain one of the four charters that lead to Stewart-Haas Racing and will compete as a Haas Factory Team next season.

“After what Gene Haas has accomplished in this sport, it would be a dream come true to drive this Cup car,” Custer said.

Stewart-Haas Racing is primarily run by Joe Custer, Haas’ COO and longtime confidant. Custer remains president of the Haas Factory Team – and his son could get the Cup seat.

“Whenever I’ve come back to the Xfinity Series, my goal has always been to come back to Cup,” Cole Custer said. “I’ve been trying to work on improving for the last year and a half. At the end of the day, you try to do your best and hope that everything works itself out. But right now, I really don’t have much to say or anything concrete or anything.”

Justin Bonsignore finished 23rd in his Xfinity Series debut, just hours after winning a race at this track in NASCAR’s Modified Tour. He is a three-time NWMT champion. Bonsignore, driving the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was involved in a late crash.

The Xfinity race was held on rain tires, a first for the series on the oval.

Matt DiBenedetto was disqualified during post-race inspection due to three loose right rear lug nuts.

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