"Byron, Bell don’t deserve Championship" - NASCAR insider reacts after Christopher Bell's 'don’t you dare block me' radio remark surfaces

Austin Konenski, racing insider for Motorsports Wire, took to social media to weigh in on the controversy between Cup Series drivers William Byron and Christopher Bell regarding the finish of Sunday's race at the Martinsville Speedway. Konenski believes neither Byron nor Bell should be in next week's Championship 4 race after their respective attempts to manipulate the finish of Sunday's race.

On the final lap of Sunday's 500-lap event, Bell needed to pick up one more position to surpass Byron for the final Championship 4 spot. Bell drove his #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota underneath Bubba Wallace's #23 23XI Racing Toyota in turn three, made the pass, and put his car up against the wall in turn four on his way to the checkered flag.

However, NASCAR ruled Bell's wall ride move illegal and the driver was handed a safety violation penalty, dropping him four spots in the final results and allowing Byron to take the final Championship 4 spot.

There was controversy on Byron's end too, as fellow Chevrolet drivers Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain seemingly created a blockade behind the #24 Hendrick Motorsports machine to prevent anyone from passing him, thus ensuring his advancement to the Championship 4.

On the other hand, radio communication from Bell's team emerged where he and crew chief Adam Stevens were discussing how Wallace was planning to drop back intentionally to surrender the position. On the radio, Bell said:

"Tell him don't you dare block me."

More radio chatter reveals someone from the #20 team admit that they had been telling Wallace to let them pass.

“We’ve been telling him to back up to us.”

This led Konenski to take to his personal X account to voice his opinion on the radio communications. Due to the controversies, Konenski believes neither driver should run for the championship in Phoenix, writing:

"Let’s do a Championship 3 while giving Ford the Manufacturer’s Championship. Byron and Bell don’t deserve the Championship 4 appearance if both parties manipulated the finish."

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The Championship 4 was set at Martinsville

Controversy aside, there's no disputing now that William Byron will join Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney as the four drivers who will race for the Cup Series championship at the Phoenix Raceway this Sunday.

Logano earned a win in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas to claim his spot, while Reddick stormed to victory on the last lap at Homestead-Miami the next week to lock up a spot. Blaney won last Sunday at Martinsville to earn his Championship 4 spot, while Byron took the final position by virtue of points.

Logano seeks his third career Cup championship while Blaney guns for his second straight title. Reddick and Byron, meanwhile, aim for their first career Championship on Sunday.