"Nobody likes the ruling" - Kenny Wallace critiques NASCAR's Christopher Bell DQ, addresses Bubba Wallace's intentions

After dominating a large part of the 2024 Playoffs, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell lost the opportunity to compete in the Championship 4 race due to disqualification at Martinsville. Kenny Wallace shared his opinion on the controversial decision by NASCAR on the recent Coffee with Kenny podcast.

Bell began the Xfinity 500 race at Martinsville in 16th position. After losing five places in Stage 1, the Oklahoma-born racer made good progress in Stage 2, climbing to 6th position. With Ryan Blaney set to win the race with four laps remaining, Bell seemingly pulled Ross Chastain's viral 'Hail Melon' maneuver on the penultimate lap to pass Bubba Wallace and clinch the fourth and final place for the grand finale at Phoenix.

However, Bell's controversial wall-riding-move saw him get a penalty from NASCAR for a safety violation, pushing him to 22nd position after the race ended. This allowed his HMS rival William Byron to enter the Championship 4 race, along with Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, and the Martinsville race winner Blaney.

Legendary Cup Series driver and current NASCAR analyst Wallace shared his opinion on Bell's disqualification on the recent Coffee with Kenny podcast.

"Obviously the race was just going normal and the last corner of the race. So we ran 500 laps and it was the last corner. And it really wasn't even the corner. It was very exciting, but nobody likes the ruling. That's what it's all about. And the ruling was you cannot ride the wall," Wallace said (4:08 onward).

"So when Ross Chastain rode the wall, everybody agreed, don't do that anymore. Everybody agreed because ain't no way anybody's ever gonna do that again. And Lord, whoever saw this coming, whoever saw, my opinion is Christopher Bell got in, got underneath Bubba, got loose, got to the wall, panicked, thought Bubba was gonna try to pass him. I don't think the message got to Christopher that Bubba was letting him go," he added, explaining the situation (4:39 onward).

Here's a look at the entire podcast, shared on X by Wallace, captioned:

"Coffee with Kenny” Did @CBellRacing RIDE THE WALL?"

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"This situation is nothing like the situation of the 1 car" - Christopher Bell's crew chief Adam Stevens expressed disappointment with NASCAR's unfair ruling

Christopher Bell was handed a time penalty after the 2024 Xfinity 500 race at Martinsville for violating NASCAR's rule 10.5.2.6.A. #20 Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief Adam Stevens expressed disappointment with NASCAR's unfair enforcement of the above-mentioned rule during a post-race media interaction.

"If we’re just talking about the decision, this situation is nothing like the situation of the (#)1 car (of Ross Chastain). We attempted to make the corner. We passed the 23. We got into the marbles. He got into the fence after we passed the 23. We slowed down a full second from our previous lap. We weren’t up there matting the gas and grabbing gears," Stevens said, explaining the situation.

"It’s just a different situation. It sucks that it’s a judgment call and you can’t appeal an in-race violation, but I just don’t see anything that’s even remotely close to what the 1 did that they outlawed," he added, expressing his frustration.

The time penalty eventually shoved Bell to the 22nd position after the race, thereby taking the fourth and final place in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway away from him.