“I was just concentrating on not beating myself”: Christopher Bell comes clean after his contact with Kyle Busch at COTA

The last few laps of Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA came down to a showdown between Cup Series regulars Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch. In the end, Busch fell just short of winning his first race in years while Bell bagged his second consecutive victory of the season.

But Bell’s way en route to victory lane wasn’t a smooth one. Towards the end of the race, Busch was fighting a late caution when the Joe Gibbs Racing driver veered to a position from where he thought he could clear Busch’s No. 8 Chevy.

After a fierce battle, Bell was able to pass but got loose and hit Busch while doing so. When asked about the same during a post-race media availability, the Oklahoma native said,

“Kyle Busch, whenever he got out front, I just was, like, I'm trying my hardest to get position on him to outbreak him, and he was attacking his brake zones so hard that I could not get there. There was once I had to abort. I'm sure everyone saw it, getting into one.”

Bell wasn’t particularly proud of the incident with Busch. Recalling the same, he continued,

“I was just concentrating on not beating myself. It wasn't the cleanest laps that I ran at the end, but they were enough to hold on.”

That being said, Bell is clearly off to a great start. He made the playoffs by winning last week’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the following week, he emerged victorious in the first road course race of the year.

---

“Just wish we had equal tires”- Kyle Busch pinpoints Christopher Bell’s dominance following heartbreaking COTA outing

At one point during Sunday’s race, it seemed like Kyle Busch was finally going to log that long-awaited victory. But it didn’t happen. During a post-race interview, the two-time Cup Series champion circled out exactly what he needed to hold off Christopher Bell.

As reported by Brett Winningham of The Speedway Digest, Busch said,

“I just wish we had equal tires to the 20 (Christopher Bell). Once we had that yellow, you’re just in defense mode. Hated the contact in two and three bent the toe link.”

Busch was upset with how everything turned out for him but knew that Bell wasn’t trying to take him out on purpose. As reported by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, the Richard Childress Racing driver appreciated Bell’s clean racing style.

“Kyle Busch said he knew he was putting himself in a vulnerable position with throwing every crazy block he could, but Christopher Bell chose to race him cleanly and he appreciated it,” Gluck wrote. “He thinks the caution was the difference.”

Nevertheless, both drivers will now prepare for next week’s (March 9) race, which will be held at Phoenix Raceway. Fans can watch the action live on Fox Sports 1 or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 3:30 pm ET onwards.