"It races so different": Christopher Bell breaks down the distinctive racing at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta to Kevin Harivick

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell took his No. 20 DEWALT Toyota to victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway after winning the 400-mile race under yellow flag conditions. The 30-year-old sat down for a conversation with former Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and gave his honest opinion on how racing in Atlanta is quite different from Superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega.

Bell's victory in Atlanta came after a disappointing finish at the Daytona 500 where he crashed out late in the race on lap 196 while fighting for the lead with his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin. Like in Daytona, the race in Atlanta also got pushed into overtime after a late crash with three to go.

There was another crash on the last lap in the overtime restart and Christopher Bell was alongside Carson Hocevar and Ross Chastain in a three-way battle when the caution was thrown. After reviewing the footage, NASCAR declared Bell as the winner. Following the Ambetter Health 400, Bell sat down with Kevin Harvick on his Happy Hour podcast and spoke about the difference between racing in Atlanta and other Superspeedways.

"It's so weird because you have the same rules package (at Atlanta) as you do at Daytona and Talladega, but it races so different. And one thing that is so unique about that place; it truly feels like if you're complacent on your position and you're not contesting to go forward, you're going backwards. And every race that I've run there, I keep notes. And every time in my notes it says, 'The time that I say I'm going to ride, I just start going backwards,'" Bell shared (1:43 onwards).

He also touched upon the aspect of fuel conservation that comes into play on longer tracks like Daytona (2.5-mile) and Talladega (2.66-mile) where the drivers who are being pulled forward the draft can run sometimes at only half the throttle and still stay with the pack.

"(In Atlanta) you have to be on offense to maintain your position and even think about moving forward where in Daytona and Talladega, the track's a little bit longer in distance and the stages are longer. So there is an element of fuel conservation that you have to be really mindful of at those style tracks, where you don't have to be as mindful of it at Atlanta. So I'm sure that plays into it a little bit as well," he added.

However, Bell's victory was not without controversy.

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Christopher Bell defends NASCAR for throwing caution to end the race

Lately, there has been a lot of criticism surrounding NASCAR's inconsistency in throwing cautions towards the end of the race. While Christopher Bell won the race under yellow conditions, NASCAR did not throw a caution the night before when a similar crash happened in the Xfinity Series race.

Even in the Daytona 500, William Byron had to race to the finish line and defend from Tyler Reddick despite a big crash behind them on the final lap of the overtime restart. This has led to speculations among the fans and experts that NASCAR is unsure whether they want to finish a race under green-white-checkered or under caution. However, Christopher Bell has sided with NASCAR's decision to throw caution on the final lap.

He recalled a previous incident when the winner was decided under caution and Bell was on the receiving end.

"We have been down this road before. I myself got crucified at Talladega a couple of years ago because they wrecked, and I was able to avoid the wreck, and I advanced positions. They were, like, ‘Okay, from now on whenever the cars wreck in the last lap, the yellow is coming out so that we don’t endanger people’, and I think it’s the right call," Christopher Bell said in his post-race press conference (4:44 onwards).

With this victory, Christopher Bell has secured his place in the playoffs and can now approach the remainder of the regular season in a more relaxed manner.