Christopher Bell was penalized for wall riding, William Byron advances to the NASCAR playoffs

Christopher Bell appeared to secure the final spot he needed to overtake William Byron in the playoff points standings in the final corner of Sunday's Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville, sliding past a slow Bubba Wallace and then went over the wall to stay ahead of Wallace as he slid onto the front stretch through Turn 3.

But NASCAR, after much deliberation, decided that Bell's move constituted an illegal violation of wall-ride safety, giving Byron the points lead and a final fourth-place finish in the championship.

Bell had unofficially finished 18th, but is placed as the last car in 22nd, one lap down, while Byron finished 6th. Byron finished four points ahead of Bell in the playoff points standings after Martinsville; Bell would have had the tiebreaker if the two drivers had remained tied.

The move is reminiscent of Ross Chastain's wallride in the final two corners of the Martinsville fall race in 2022, where he gained enough places and points to advance to Championship 4.