Bell outlasts Keselowski for New Hampshire Xfinity win

Bell grabbed the lead on a restart with 18 of 200 laps remaining and held off Brad Keselowski to win Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

“Thank you guys, thank everyone on this team,” Bell said over his team radio as he took the checkered flag.

The win is his third in the series this season and fourth of his career. Bell's victory was also the fourth consecutive in the series at New Hampshire for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Ryan Preece finished third, John Hunter Nemechek was fourth and Matt Tifft  completed the top-five.

With 41 laps remaining in the race, a final round of green-flag pit stops began. The cycle got interrupted on Lap 187 when Jeremy Clements slammed into the barrels at the end of pit road.

The race was red-flagged from 7½ minutes as track workers cleaned up the mess from the Clements’ incident.

"The better tires, they didn't hurt us, that's for sure," Bell said in Victory Lane. "Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) was able to put four (new tires) on there. It was a big deal. "We got going on that long green-flag run and I was really nervous because because I didn't have a tach (it failed during the race). I didn't know how I was going to get down pit road without a problem. "After yesterday, I knew our Camry was really good. I knew it was going to be hard. The first stage of the race I was able to get out (front) for a while."

When the race returned to green on Lap 173, Keselowski led the way but had taken only right-side tires. He was followed by Daniel Hemric (also on two tires) and Elliott Sadler (who took four). Bell and Preece completed the top-five and both with four new tires.

Bell quickly moved into second on the restart with Nemechek got up to third.

On Lap 178, Garrett Smithley and Chad Finchum got together to bring out another caution. The race returned to green with 18 to go with Keselowski in the lead followed by Bell and Nemechek.

Bell, with a push from Nemechek, managed to clear Keselowski on the restart to take the lead.

With 10 to go, Bell held a small advantage over Keselowski with Preece in third.

Stage 2

Keselowski held off a furious charge from Hemric and Preece to earn the Stage 2 victory.

The three drivers battled for the lead on a restart with two laps remaining in the 45-lap segment but Keselowski was able to pull away.

Hemric finished second, Preece third, Jones was fourth and Nemechek completed the top-five.

Following the break between Stages 1 and 2, Keselowski gained four positions on pit road and took over the lead when Stage 2 went green on Lap 54. He was followed by Preece, Nemechek and Bell.

Preece dove to the inside of Keselowski and grabbed the lead on the restart as Bell moved into third.

On Lap 58, Keselowski moved back around Preece to retake the lead as Bell remained in third.

With 25 laps remaining in the stage, Keselowski held a small advantage over Preece. Keselowski appeared to have difficulty communicating with his team over the radio since the start of Stage 2.

On Lap 71, a caution was displayed for debris on the backstretch. Keselowski remained on the track and continued to lead when the race returned green on Lap 75.

On the restart, Preece again dove to the inside of Keselowski to challenge for the lead but Keselowski was able to hold him off.

Ross Chastain wrecked on Lap 79 to bring out the caution again. Most of the lead-lap cars elected to stay out but Bell pit for tires and fuel.

Keselowski continued to lead the way when the race returned to green with seven laps remaining in the stage.

Once again, Preece powered by Keselowski on the restart only to see Keselowski return the favor and reclaim the lead on the following lap.

Ryan Truex got turned by Ryan Reed to bring out a caution on Lap 85. The incident also collected Justin Allgaier and Kaz Grala. The race returned to green with two laps left in the stage.

Stage 1

Bell dominated the first segment, grabbing the lead on the start and leading all 45 laps to collect the stage victory.

“Probably need to turn a little better,” Bell told his team over the radio. “I started sliding, laterally, at the 3/8ths mark.”

Preece finished second, Nemechek was third, Hemric fourth and Keselowski completed the top-five.

Bell took the early lead in the race with Preece falling in line behind him in the second position.

On Lap 13, Nemechek moved into the third position behind Preece, followed by Allgaier and Hemric.

With 20 laps remaining in the first stage, Bell held a small advantage over Preece with Nemechek more than two seconds behind.

With 10 laps left in stage, Bell had increased his advantage to nearly a second over Preece. Tyler Reddick scraped the wall in the Turns 1 and 2 and was forced to pit road for repairs.

Three drivers – pole-winner Keselowski, B.J. McLeod and Ryan Reed – had to start the race from the rear of the field. Keselowski and McLeod were late to the drivers meeting and Reed’s team made unapproved adjustments to his car after qualifying.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Retirement
1	20	Christopher Bell	Toyota	200		93
2	22	Brad Keselowski	Ford	200	0.416	72
3	18	Ryan Preece	Toyota	200	1.908	6
4	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Chevrolet	200	2.823
5	2	Matt Tifft	Chevrolet	200	3.731
6	19	Brandon Jones	Toyota	200	4.815
7	7	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	200	6.044
8	1	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	200	6.543	26
9	00	Cole Custer	Ford	200	7.025
10	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	200	7.648
11	21	Daniel Hemric	Chevrolet	200	8.001	3
12	16	Ryan Reed	Ford	200	9.129
13	11	Ryan Truex	Chevrolet	200	10.414
14	61	Kaz Grala	Ford	200	12.284
15	39	Ryan Sieg	Chevrolet	200	12.455
16	5	Michael Annett	Chevrolet	200	13.126
17	60	Austin Cindric	Ford	200	13.133
18	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	200	15.348
19	23	Johnny Sauter	Chevrolet	199	1 lap
20	78	Tommy Joe Martins	Chevrolet	199	1 lap
21	40	Chad Finchum	Toyota	198	2 laps
22	35	Joey Gase	Chevrolet	198	2 laps
23	36	Alex Labbé	Chevrolet	198	2 laps
24	76	Boyd Spencer	Chevrolet	198	2 laps
25	9	Tyler Reddick	Chevrolet	196	4 laps
26	4	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	196	4 laps
27	01	Vinnie Miller	Chevrolet	195	5 laps
28	52	David Starr	Chevrolet	195	5 laps
29	55	Bayley Currey	Toyota	190	10 laps
30	8	Angela Ruch	Chevrolet	188	12 laps
31	74	Mike Harmon	Chevrolet	182	18 laps
32	0	Garrett Smithley	Chevrolet	176	24 laps		Accident
33	90	Donald Theetge	Chevrolet	172	28 laps
34	45	Josh Bilicki	Toyota	165	35 laps		Ignition
35	15	B.J. McLeod	Chevrolet	130	70 laps		Engine
36	38	J.J. Yeley	Chevrolet	113	87 laps		Brakes
37	66	Carl Long	Chevrolet	62	138 laps		Brakes
38	13	Timmy Hill	Toyota	57	143 laps		Vibration
39	89	Morgan Shepherd	Chevrolet	32	168 laps		Brakes