NASCAR eliminates Bell from playoffs after controversial ending

While Ryan Blaney made it to the final, there was chaos behind him in the fight for the fourth and final transfer spot.

William Byron had two Chevrolet colleagues behind him, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain, side by side. A radio message from Dillon's No. 3 talked about “knowing the deal,” and then someone asked, “Does the 1st (Chastain) crew chief know the deal?”

Neither driver ever overtook the number 24, which was one point ahead of Christopher Bell.

Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace radioed that he had a punctured tire and quickly slowed down on the track. In the last corner, his Toyota colleague Bell came closer and overtook him. But Bell also came into the corner too hot and slid up the track. Upon hitting the wall, Bell kept his foot on the accelerator and drove over the wall to the checkered flag, in a slower/random version of what Chastain did two years ago at Martinsville – which is now illegal.

Bell and Byron were tied, Bell won the tiebreaker, but there were no celebrations. NASCAR spent a lot of time reviewing the finish before finally announcing that Bell would not make it to Championship 4 for the third straight year. He was ejected for a safety violation citing the wallride.

However, there were fewer cheers in the Byron camp, who remained stone-faced during an interview with NBC. “I'm not happy about anything,” said the 2024 Daytona 500 winner. “But the rule is what it is, for that crossover gate over there and going over the wall. It is what it is. I'm just proud of my team. Overall, a really hard-fought day, I’m proud of that.”

Bell was desperate. “I don't know what to say. I don't know… I understand that the rule was put in place to prevent people from going over the wall, but my move was completely different than Ross's. I eased myself into the corner and…slid right into the fence. I don't know what to say.

It was a breathtaking end to the round of 16 elimination race. Byron and Blaney will now battle Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano for the 2024 NASCAR Cup title.