“Say what you wanna say”: NASCAR veteran empowers Christopher Bell after expletive-filled Las Vegas moment

Ahead of the Straight Talk Wireless 400 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Christopher Bell spoke about his expletive-filled moment at Las Vegas during the cooldown lap. The 29-year-old racer received support from NASCAR legend Kenny Wallace for his adrenalin-filled comments during the South Point 400 race.

Bell, the 2017 Craftsman Truck Series champion, debuted in the Cup Series in 2020. Apart from his debut season, the Oklahoma-based racer has been a part of the Playoffs for the past three years, finishing 12th, third, and fourth in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons, respectively. Now, in his fourth consecutive Playoff appearance, Bell is one of the top contenders for the title with NASCAR estimating a 90.65% chance of him entering the grand finale.

Despite leading about 58% (155 of 267 laps) of the South Point 400 race, Bell eventually lost to Joey Logano, due to a clever strategy on the latter's part in Stage 3. This led to the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver cussing on the team radio during the cooldown lap.

"You gotta be f**k**g kidding me!" Bell screamed on the radio after the race.

During a mandatory pre-race press interaction at Miami, Bell explained his emotion during the cooldown race.

"I don't know, I own it. I try to not curse, but in the moment it was very passionate. I just was overcome by emotion at that point in time. And yeah, I don't know what to say other than I just didn't even really think about what I was saying. It was just emotion and disappointment and yeah just passion," he said (0:00 onwards).

The interaction was shared on X by senior journalist Bob Pockrass. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"Christopher Bell startled some with his f-bomb on his in-car radio on the cool down lap at Vegas. He doesn’t like to bring attention to himself but some thought it was great to hear his emotion. What did he think?"

Reacting to Pockrass's video, NASCAR icon Wallace came out in support of the young Norman-born racer. Here's a look at his reply on X, captioned:

"Stupid conversation. Say what you wanna say @CBellRacing..God did not make us perfect."

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"Nothing's guaranteed," - Christopher Bell explains unpredictability in Playoffs after finishing second in the South Point 400 race at Vegas

Christopher Bell was looking to secure a spot in the 2024 Championship 4 during the South Point 400 race. However, a well-executed strategy saw Joey Logano take the win, despite the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's near-flawless performance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Bell expressed his frustration in a post-race interview.

"I don't think I've come to terms yet so I don't know. Just just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails. Pit crew did an amazing job. Adam (Stevens) called a great race," Bell explained (0:07 onwards).

"I mean, it's just, it's a whole new race next week. You know, this track means nothing for next week. And fortunately, we were able to go and win in Homestead (last year), but nothing's guaranteed. Just because I ran second today doesn't mean that I'm going to finish anywhere (near) next week," he added (0:38 onwards).

Here's a look at the entire video from YouTube:

As of now, Bell is leading the 2024 driver's standings ahead of Kyle Larson and William Byron.