Christopher Bell shows true sportsmanship towards William Byron despite Martinsville heartbreak - “Go get them next week”

Christopher Bell was far from happy after NASCAR ruled against him for riding the wall in the final lap of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. As a result, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver missed out on the Championship 4 spot at Phoenix, while William Byron made it through. Despite that, Bell kept his sportsman spirit high and congratulated Byron during a post-race interaction.

Sunday's race at Martinsville saw six drivers compete for the final two places in Championship 4. However, only two were able to make it through: Ryan Blaney and William Byron. Even though Christopher Bell had a mega advantage before the race, his final lap mistake cost him heavily.

While trying to push his way through, the #20 driver rode the wall and crossed the finish line. The move was earlier banned by NASCAR following Ross Chastain's wall-riding Hail Melon move a couple of years ago. As a result, this time around NASCAR did not allow Bell to go through with it, even though he was tied with Byron on the same points.

Soon after the announcement was made, Christopher Bell went to meet Byron and congratulated the HMS driver. Here's what he said to the Hendrick Motorsports driver,

“That’s not how I wanted it to go but congratulations. Go get them next week.”

William Byron became the fourth driver to qualify for Championship 4 after Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick, qualified earlier. Ryan Blaney became the third driver after he claimed the Xfinity 500 victory.

Blaney held off Hendrick Motorsports duo Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson to secure his chance of defending the title. The Team Penske driver is the defending champion of the NASCAR Cup Series and will battle with three drivers, including his teammate Logano, a two-time champion, to retain his title.

Besides Bell, Larson's failure to move to Champion 4 shocked many. The #5 driver has been the most successful Cup Series driver with six victories in 34 races, but his playoff journey ended in the round of 8.

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William Byron "not happy" despite making the Championship 4, ahead of Christopher Bell

NASCAR: Xfinity 500 - Source: Imagn

Following NASCAR's announcement, which qualified William Byron for Championship 4, the #24 driver stated that he was "not happy" with anything. Here's what he said,

"I mean, I'm not happy for anything but the rule is what it is for the crossover gate over there and ride the wall, and it is what it is," Byron said. "I will go race, and just proud of my team, who really hard fought day overall, and proud of that."

Besides Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin also failed to make it past the round of eight. The final Cup Series championship race place at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.