Adam Stevens confirms ‘discussion with NASCAR’ over Chase Briscoe’s crew fixing Christopher Bell’s loose wheel in Las Vegas

Christopher Bell battled several adversities during Sunday’s (March 16) Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, the No. 20 team's biggest setback was when it let Bell drive away from his pit stall without tightening his left front tire.

The Oklahoma native narrowly avoided a loose wheel penalty, thanks to his JGR teammate Chase Briscoe and the No. 19 pit crew. Bell parked his car in Briscoe’s stall, while the 19 team rushed to the rescue.

The move saved the day. But it wasn’t improvised. Bell’s crew chief Adam Steven told Frontstretch's Michael Massie that Bell’s team had it up their sleeves as a backup plan.

“It's something that we've talked about before,” Stevens said (1:35 onwards). “It's a situation that's come up in the past and it's been discussed with NASCAR. It could prevent a wheel from going across the racetrack or a dangerous situation. So as soon as possible, he jumped up with his head shaking, and we jumped on.”

Bell salvaged a top-15 finish but fell short of logging a four-peat. The speedster had won three races in a row before entering Sunday’s event at the 1.5-mile racetrack. He sits second in the driver standings with 178 points.

Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry marked his 53rd start in the NASCAR Cup Series with a win. It was his first career win and his team’s 101st premier series triumph.

Next up for the drivers is the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Scheduled for March 23, the 267-lap race will be televised on Fox Sports 1 from 3 pm ET onwards. Fans can also listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“It got away from us”- Christopher Bell reflects on a missed four-peat

Christopher Bell started from P13 but gained positions finishing 10th in Stage 1. However, things went downhill after that. Despite running as high as second, Bell struggled on pit road and with the balance in his Interstate Camry.

Reflecting on his woes during an interview, Bell said (via Speedway Digest):

“It was a grind today for sure. I don't really know how I feel yet, but we certainly didn't do what we did the last couple of weeks and that was just have a nice clean race… We just didn't get a handle on the balance, because it changes so much from being back there.”

“I felt like we were in position in stage two to contend for another win, but it got away from us,” he added.

Still, Christopher Bell remains the only driver with multiple wins this season. He and Josh Berry are locked in the playoffs.