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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Christopher Bell led 101 of the 200 laps, claimed both stages and won the NASCAR Xfinity race at Texas on Saturday night to secure one of the four spots to race for the series championship.
Bell led four times, going ahead to stay with 30 laps remaining at the 1 12-mile track. He went on to win by more than 5 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Ross Chastain, who is not in playoff contention.
Three championship-contending spots for Nov. 16 finale at Homestead will be up grabs and determined next weekend at Phoenix. Bell entered Texas as the points leader, followed by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Justin Allgaier —and that order was unchanged.
It was the eighth win this season for Bell, and his 16th in 72 career starts in the series.
With his two stage wins at Texas, Bell has 21 this season. That is 13 more than Custer's total that is the second-most in the series.
Austin Cindric finished third, three spots ahead of Allgaier. Custer was eighth, Michael Annett 11th and Chase Briscoe 22nd. Playoff contenders Reddick or Noah Gragson didn't finish the race because of accidents.
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