Christopher Bell responds to NASCAR fan boos after Coke 600 win - "It's still a win for me"

Christopher Bell, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, won the rain-shortened NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 race yesterday. However, despite his triumph, the 30-year-old racer faced a lot of booing from angry fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Bell began the race in 3rd place, behind Ty Gibbs' #54 Toyota and Willian Byron's #24 Chevrolet. After managing to stay in the top 5 for stage one, Bell soon took the lead in stage two (first on lap 120, then lap 154, and finally lap 189), winning the stage. Until the rain started to fall on lap 249, the #20 driver was able to maintain his position. Officials canceled the race because the weather did not improve, and Bell was pronounced the winner.

While the Oklahoma-based driver and his crew were delighted by the result, fans felt cheated with 151 laps remaining. While Bell and his team celebrated in victory lane, the enraged crowd was jeering. Bell talked to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sport about dealing with such a hostile crowd during the post-race interview. He said:

"It's still a win for me. And, you know, like I said the last two years, we have been really competitive in this event. So, it's not like we've lucked into this thing." (From 0.25 seconds onwards)

Further elaborating on the race, Bell added:

"You know, we led laps, I passed for the lead, We had great pitstops, pit crew did amazing. Uhh.. it was just 400 miles, instead of 600 miles."

Here's a look at the post by Pockrass on his X page, captioned:

"Christopher Bell on hearing the boos when the race was called (because it was called, not necessarily because he won) and how he viewed the win where he led 90 of the 249 laps."

A brief look at all of Christopher Bell's wins so far

Having started his racing career in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2015, the then-21-year-old Christopher Bell showed everyone why he deserved a chance in NASCAR. The rookie wrapped up his first season with one win, two top-5s, and 3 top-10 finishes.

He followed up his debut season with even better results in 2016 with one win, nine top-5s, 17 top-10s, and 3rd place in the driver's championship. However, it was his third season in the sport that surprised everyone. Carrying the momentum from the previous year, Bell became the Craftsman Truck Series champion in 2017, with five wins, 15 top-5s, and 21 top-10 finishes.

Following a dismal season in 2018, Bell decided to join the Cup Series in 2020. Since then, he has won eight times. After his latest victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the #20 racer from Oklahoma seems motivated for more silverware.