Christopher Bell blows a brake rotor during Stage 2 of NASCAR Championship

Christopher Bell was the only driver to make the Championship 4 this year from last year’s Championship 4. He will also be the first driver eliminated in this race. That’s just how NASCAR goes. From fighting for a championship to getting put into the wall.

For all of his clutch performances in the NASCAR Playoffs, he couldn’t drive himself out of this one. That brake got too hot, his team knew it was happening. When your car gets in that situation, it just can’t really fix it.

Christopher Bell ends his day early at Phoenix

So, what went wrong with Christopher Bell? Likely a combination of things. The bottom line is, his brakes got too hot. While he had a really good car in practice on the long run, his brakes didn’t last to the really long runs of the race.

After he got out of the care center, Bell talked to the NBC broadcast about the wreck.

“That was my first time I’ve ever exploded a rotor in my career, so yeah I was surprised. … I don’t know, obviously just a disappointing way to end but just super super proud of this 20 team,” Bell said.

When asked if the car showed the same issues in practice, Bell said it was fine for the most part.

“Not from my standpoint in the car, no.”

At the end of this, it just stinks that Christopher Bell won’t get to race for the championship. It was getting good with Byron, Blaney, Bell, and Larson all in the top-6 at one point during Stage 2.

“Yeah I mean it stings to not have the shot at the end of it.”